tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2108266414908367952024-03-19T04:48:34.313-04:00stuff about lifeEducational Humour - looking at the world through the eyes of a clown and a lot of other people that make up..... The TeamBozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-60836890923091012012016-03-11T18:34:00.000-05:002016-03-11T18:34:12.286-05:00Western Canada Winter Memories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5uVQZsB5SPcyhrmiS4L4r0w_7hBm-e_hPnG-c8xuTtskGxPw4UzlvJ0mQRymL0NwALgoRUEuPNT7ss4jrruqqXv376Ej2un6I65IGkJUZeZGSh9D1WSY5JKhM_1RjkLAY0869dW6F0AM/s1600/red-green-if-the-women-dont-find-you-handsome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5uVQZsB5SPcyhrmiS4L4r0w_7hBm-e_hPnG-c8xuTtskGxPw4UzlvJ0mQRymL0NwALgoRUEuPNT7ss4jrruqqXv376Ej2un6I65IGkJUZeZGSh9D1WSY5JKhM_1RjkLAY0869dW6F0AM/s1600/red-green-if-the-women-dont-find-you-handsome.jpg" /></a></div>
“The old lady just call and 1 of her workers just pulled out of the driveway with the block heater still plugged in and ripped the end off.. so i have to go to crappy tire get an end and fix it.” <div>
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This is a slightly modified quote from a friend on Facebook that triggered some memories of doing such things while living in western Canada in the winter, specifically Calgary, Alberta (he isn’t the best of spellers as he openly admits, so I corrected some of the mistakes and some grammar, too). Since I was a transferred sales representative, I had to get used to some of the differences that I found from my native Ontario which is generally a lot warmer in winter.<br /><br />The first thing I noticed is it was a dry cold (just like all the locals said), but that doesn’t make it any better. Your nostrils want to try to slam shut when you try to breathe the really cold air that I first experienced my first December out there. Not many folks in Calgary were actually born there since most transferred in because of something related to the oil patch businesses and all the support businesses needed to help with this cyclical growth since it was on again and then off again when prices dropped.<div>
<br />I also noticed that every car had the block heater plug hanging out of an opening in the grill or just in a gap between the hood and the body. My first experience of not plugging in on a cold night was interesting since the engine wouldn’t turn over since the oil was pretty much solid goo. I since learned that a thinner winter weight multigrade oil made engine turnover a little easier but you still plugged in the car overnight wherever you were be it at home or at a hotel or motel on the road. I vividly remember driving into Winnipeg from the airport and passing a larger shopping mall that had a sort of cloud over it but this was just all the cars left running while folks went indoors to shop. I guess stealing cars in the middle of the winter was beyond most crooks since they probably went south with the birds.<br /><br />Back in those days, the hotel issued keys since the card entry system was not available yet. They mostly had cheaper nylon carpets so when you made it inside, after hitching up your car for the night and walking through the extra crunchy dry snow, I learned quickly that the very large key was a very important defense weapon you needed before you got to your room. You see the soles of my shoes (not rubber) would start to build up a large amount of static electricity in my mostly wool pants and when you went to reach for a metal door handle you got to see very large sparks gapping from the door handle to the first metal thing on your body or in your hand. Since the first time I did this the key was in my pocket and it seems that the 3 foot spark decided that the zipper on my pants fly was the place it would complete its connection for discharging (zippers were metal back in those days). WOW did that ever hurt!! So from that point on, I always entered a building with a key firmly lodged between the first two fingers of my right hand and watched as the giant spark made its arc between the door handle I was about to grab and the key. Better safe than neutered.<br /><br />For those of you that don’t know what crappy tire is, it is nothing more than the name most Canadian folks gave to Canadian Tire which is a chain of automotive retail stores (that sells way more than auto parts) that can be found in most every city or larger town in Canada. They do sell some good products but they also import a lot of junk that gives it that tag. Back in those days, a lot of the crappy stuff came from Japan and Korea but now most everything they sell comes from China so I think it is time to update the tag to “Chinese Tire” because that is where the bulk of its products sold are made, which isn’t much different than other larger retailers nowadays. They don’t get the idea that with a name like Canadian Tire that they should be selling mostly Canadian made products but that is another problem that will one day be resolved by the cost of transportation from foreign lands and perhaps more of the products bought by Canadians will be made by Canadians who would be employed and could afford to buy them now. </div>
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<br />Take a visit to Mark’s Work Warehouse and Sport Chek (where one buys winter gear in Canada) which are both owned by Canadian Tire and look at all the Made in other places, not Canada tags there as well. Interestingly enough, both had their head offices in Calgary and were founded by western Canadians to the best of my knowledge, or at least started out as western retailers before making it back into the east. It is too bad that there are not more Canadian producers of goods out there that would be gainfully employed by Canadians who would then spend their earnings on Canadian-made goods but that is not a new problem in the world economy. Sooner or later the big retailers will give in to the fact that Made in other places is not a sustainable way to do business. But first they have to take their focus off of the bottom line to see what is happening to their overall business. I bet if they had a Made In Canada section in all 3 stores, it wouldn't take up very much floor space. </div>
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Anyone remember when Canadian Tire didn't have any stock on the floor? Way back in the day, you found a sample product covered in clear plastic on the display floor, recorded the product number and took your order to a counter where it got picked and sent upstairs on a conveyor belt. Who came up with that crazy idea? Probably a relative of the folks that get their products made in a country they probably have never visited. Retailers come up with some very strange ideas on how to do business. Maybe they never learned to use the key trick and got zapped too many times. I would think getting zapped there a lot would eventually hurt your thinking patterns.</div>
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Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-34654691752924700542016-02-13T17:37:00.000-05:002016-02-13T17:37:26.303-05:00Doing It the Right Way<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3E6waIL5-GixGciA9Tn3DEpCFwFE3wvtap5LORbsKcj-P0YlDzrLV26oFP859UZgAkUashHxdXtdU4IOSvhixZO_xeKCkduYcpTgcrINepZuDy18R41bTu8zeNwPlGsA_BMZ2pwXQDI/s1600/bacon+curly+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3E6waIL5-GixGciA9Tn3DEpCFwFE3wvtap5LORbsKcj-P0YlDzrLV26oFP859UZgAkUashHxdXtdU4IOSvhixZO_xeKCkduYcpTgcrINepZuDy18R41bTu8zeNwPlGsA_BMZ2pwXQDI/s320/bacon+curly+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is certainly creative!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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How does one decide that there is only one right way to do
things, which implies all the other ways are wrong? I think that only leads one
to believe that someone with that viewpoint is rather narrow-minded. Why would
you not just consider all of the other ways just alternative methods to do a
task or undertaking? Could you not see that some would be better than others
and many would be done to your satisfaction? Maybe one would rise to the top and
be considered the best way to do that, but you could hardly just call it the
right way of doing that activity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s look at one particular task in light of this concept. Is
there a right way to cook bacon? There are several ways of cooking bacon that
will all give good results because anyone who likes bacon knows this to be
true. You can cook it in frying pan (some folks insist on a cast iron one), in
a microwave (between plain white paper towels on a microwave safe plate is
good), in the oven (on a cookie sheet between two sheets of parchment paper or
on tinfoil), under the broiler (on a broiling pan to catch the drippings) and
on a griddle on the stove or barbecue (similar to the frying pan method). And I’m
sure you could come up with even more ways to cook bacon successfully. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So one could say that all is left to resolve is which one or
more methods are better suited to your way of doing things or your requirements
at that particular point in time. Some approaches are better for larger batches
cooked at one time, while others are appropriate for smaller lots (some folks
would ask why would you want a small batch of bacon?) and some methods allow
you to collect the drippings after cooking while others make that a little more
difficult. Some require more clean-up after the fact than others.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So can you honestly say that there is only one right way to
cook bacon? I think the simple answer is that there is more than one way to do
things right which could imply that the others are just wrong. Jase Robertson
would often say “That’s just wrong” but that is just done for television since
he is smart enough to accept there is more than one way to catch a frog. He apparently
refers to himself as “a frog’s worst nightmare”. Some folks might say they
never cook bacon and that is a personal choice. It should be considered that this
viewpoint is neither right nor wrong.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And like cooking bacon another question a Canadian like me
might ask is there only one right way to shoot a hockey puck? You could use a wood
stick (if you can still find one), a laminate stick or a composite stick (if
you are wealthy enough to afford those things) and you could shoot it forehand,
backhand (if the stick blade doesn’t have too much curve), wrist shot, flick
shot, slap shot, snapshot, one-timer, cannonading drive (thank you Danny
Gallivan)… And the list can go on for some time. Mostly I shoot the puck poorly
and that is one of many reasons I tried to play goal (the major one was a great
respect for Johnny Bower and also the reason I hung up the pads).<o:p></o:p></div>
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So is there just one right religion, nationality, political
party, hamburger, soft drink, beer, vacation place, sport, music genre, way to
hang a roll of toilet paper, hairstyle, acting method, and way to poop? Try
googling “right way to” and you will see a whole bunch of listings for
narrow-minded folks that insist that the subject matter has a solitary way of
being done to qualify as the right way of doing it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I strongly suggest you avoid folks who insist that there is
a right way to do things and find the folks that accept that there are several
ways that you can do things and some are possibly considered better than the
others just based on their viewpoint. And you could classify that viewpoint as
tolerance, open-mindedness, progressiveness, permissiveness and even
liberalism. It is interesting that I got most of the synonyms for tolerance
here from a thesaurus which is a book based on alternatives. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Some folks have a very small outlook on life and that is
sort of wrong really but I guess it works for them. I think it leaves a lot of
room up there for air instead of possibilities.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-40429014077377299762016-02-09T16:48:00.000-05:002016-02-09T16:48:00.033-05:00Wisdom Defined by Me<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQ6Cfmxq5_idOoUx8kIgclHtci7rxgF76thEpanCif0GbD3vLyPCP0Zbmlteg3rUZAQVCEDO832kq9mjm9VaX9kpe9dxdEeh2JeRU-lw1bsSWQf4Vqbf67BedDf2Kw2AJa26ORoiJV8M/s1600/mouse+trap+impossible+mission.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGQ6Cfmxq5_idOoUx8kIgclHtci7rxgF76thEpanCif0GbD3vLyPCP0Zbmlteg3rUZAQVCEDO832kq9mjm9VaX9kpe9dxdEeh2JeRU-lw1bsSWQf4Vqbf67BedDf2Kw2AJa26ORoiJV8M/s320/mouse+trap+impossible+mission.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wisdom taught me to "borrow" from Google and adjust it</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Simply stated, it is whatever works best for you and is
developed over time as you find out what works and what really doesn’t do so
well.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My more recent growth in wisdom has come from the judicial
use of Google and sorting out what works for me and what I really don’t think
is much help. So if I don’t know what I need to know, I just “google” it to try
to find a better solution to my problem (do an Internet search).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Take this Facebook post as an example of someone who will
eventually get wisdom.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
…<span style="background: white;">I broke my phone last week
and lost a lot of my contacts, could everyone please send me a text with your
name so I can add you back?</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; color: #141823; font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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You would think that after a number of times losing this
information that one would create a backup in case of some mishap. I know I did
this a lot in my working days for contacts since you make a lot of them in the
sales and marketing field. And I didn’t have a cell phone since they weren’t
available on the open market as yet. So I also carried some spare change to use
a payphone in case of some emergency. My contact list was saved on an early
days’ computer and was simply a dot matrix printout of that information when I
finally got my own computer. Up until then, the sales management groups only
wanted everything hand written. They had not developed wisdom in this matter as
yet and some never did. They were mostly full of a lot of themselves, and possibly other things. Some did have wisdom and I paid attention to their advice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here are some other items that show I developed wisdom and I
would like to share them with you now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I made a butcher block for my various kitchen knives and
custom cut it to hold the different blade widths while I assembled it. Now that
is not the wisdom I gained here but it was sort of some. I got wisdom when I
realized that all blocks at the time stored the knives against the blade edge.
Well since I started to hand sharpen all my knives myself, I soon realized that
a better way to store the knives is to simply turn them around and let them
rest on their spines so the edges stay sharper much longer. The knife companies
just marketed another version of the knife block/knife set that had the knives
resting on their sides now. They, after all, were in the business of selling
more knives.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The best toilet bowl cleaner for my money turns out to be
plain old ordinary white vinegar. It disinfects and breaks down lime build up
in the bowl and it is so cheap compared to the packaged and over marketed versions
in the toilet bowl cleaning section and it seems to work much better. Try a couple of cups and let it sit for a
while before you use the brush on the bowl. If that doesn’t work so well try
3-4 cups the next time which is an example of how one develops wisdom.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Why is it that older folks seem to have more wisdom than
younger folks? Well that one is really a no-brainer since the older folks have made
more mistakes and corrected for them since they have been around a lot longer
than younger folks. It is known as experience and not useless information that
a younger folk once told me my head was full of (useless information). I think he was full of
something else but since I gained wisdom I didn’t say that to him. He was,
after all, the owner’s son. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I learned a lot about wisdom working at a golf course. There
are a lot of really bad golfers out there and you only got better if you
changed what wasn’t working. It never ceased to amaze me that so many of them
just kept on doing the same old thing on just about every shot and their game
never improved. I, in my infinite wisdom, decided to take some lessons and so
my game immediately showed significant improvement. So I learned that you can
gain wisdom from others who have gained their own wisdom. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Just stay away from advice from those that are full of
something else. That is wisdom in its purest form.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-83251525061271324592016-02-02T21:28:00.000-05:002016-02-02T21:28:26.078-05:00World’s Best Meal – According to Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxoM1fEt28aivEhes3BBkRrCRHFUrx9DUO33kZJbnTwzHQ8ThaKcEfRwzcWJE59uJRUlvGUMt9lkcmeuDFuMuzd8qUjJT6mc-oPWf_yKncna7ESvAtLur0heHCaehh3TaUOdHk7d1AjY/s1600/taco+bell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijxoM1fEt28aivEhes3BBkRrCRHFUrx9DUO33kZJbnTwzHQ8ThaKcEfRwzcWJE59uJRUlvGUMt9lkcmeuDFuMuzd8qUjJT6mc-oPWf_yKncna7ESvAtLur0heHCaehh3TaUOdHk7d1AjY/s320/taco+bell.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And it is not something you can get at a fast food joint. That
would mean you have to put on socks and shoes and dress better and you have to
stand in line to get served. Besides they use a lot of processed stuff in their
mix so it really isn’t that healthy either. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I am talking about something you prepare right in your own
kitchen and it really doesn’t require a lot of skill or equipment. You will
need a sharp knife, microwave, dinner plate, some parchment paper and some food
items that you will look in your refrigerator to use up since you didn’t eat
them all in one sitting. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So pick a nice plain microwave safe dinner plate and that
means no gold trim that will want to arc like crazy in the microwave. Get out
the box of parchment paper and tear off a strip about as wide as the dinner
plate is round. Then take a sharp cutting tool (I use my Olfa cutter) and cut
that down the middle into 2 sections and store the second piece in the drawer
where you got the parchment paper. <o:p></o:p></div>
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You also will need some tortilla chips as the base layer
that goes down on parchment paper that is on the microwave safe dinner plate
which tends to keep the chips from getting really soggy and limpy. My personal
favourite is Tostito’s Multigrain Scoopers. The fact that they are multigrain
adds some added flavour and some added food value to this meal. The Scoopers
are formed in such a way that they create cups to hold ingredients. So place
them nicely in a pattern that covers as much of the plate without overlapping
each other. Save all the partial pieces for topping soup or stews.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now get out a good barbecue sauce and drizzle it over the
tortilla chips. My personal favourite is Diana Sauce (<a href="http://www.dianasauce.com/">www.dianasauce.com</a>) which takes me back to
the days of working at the old Eaton’s store in the sporting goods department.
We went across Yonge Street and dodged the traffic for coffee breaks because Diana
Sweets served quality food and quality coffee as well. The sauce does not list
corn starch as an ingredient which might explain why it flows very smoothly
unlike the cheaper mass brands do which come out of the bottle in blobs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now it is up to you to what you put on as more toppings
because it is your creation and sort of like an in house pizza without having
to wait for delivery and pay through the nose for over salted food that is
delivered by someone with an attitude, if the tip doesn’t meet with their
liking. Almost any previously cooked meat works quite well and my ‘fridge
always seems to have lots of that around.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Corned beef, roast beef, ham, turkey, chicken, pastrami, kolbassa,
and many other packaged slice meats work well. You can also use leftover meats
but just cut them up into small pieces to spread out over the chips and sauce. I
usually grill extra chicken breasts just for that purpose in warmer weather. Now
you can keep going and I at least shred some cheese on top of this as a basic
mix and you can season it to taste with stuff like basil, onion powder, garlic
powder, etc. Don’t add salt since there is enough in the cheese and meats
usually.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But I usually kick it up a notch (out of respect for Emeril)
and add more ingredients. Recently I have tried thinly sliced mushrooms, baby
spinach or regular spinach, pineapple tidbits, fresh broccoli (sort of shaved
into really tiny pieces) and all work well. I have used lettuce as a final
topping but only after the mixture was heated. Cut up grape tomatoes would work
well in that fashion also.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I plan to try raisins, shredded carrot, cooked bacon, cooked
chicken-bacon, canned peach slices (cut up into really small pieces), green
onions, red onions, sunflower seeds, and anything else that I have in the
fridge (and sometimes in the cupboard) that might taste good and create
variety.<o:p></o:p></div>
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You only need to microwave your creation for about 90
seconds to melt the cheese and give the rest of the mixture warmth and bind it
all together since it makes a really wonderful finger food. Just let it sit for
at least a minute or two after it comes out of the microwave so you don’t cook
the inside of your mouth (the process of microwaving continues for a bit after
the unit finishes beeping). Always have a cold beverage of some sort to go
along with this creation. My personal favourite is some sort of fruit juice to
get some more good food value out of this meal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is not much to clean up after and usually the plate
just needs a quick washing in the sink with the soap pad and rinse. When you
are hungry and don’t feel like making a full meal this combination is a really
easy one to prepare and you get to use up stuff in your fridge that might go
bad in a few days and get a healthy meal to boot. It's a pretty good choice all around
but don’t eat it near the computer keyboard. It is a bit of a sticky mess and
you will need to wash your hands after it is devoured but that isn’t much work
really. None of this was much work and it usually just tastes excellent.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It all seems pretty perfect to me, but I am pretty easy to
please.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-89508952100376937832016-01-15T18:29:00.000-05:002016-01-15T18:29:24.685-05:00Big Box Stores Loyalty to Performance Only<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJdvhGAA0WsbmfFime1mpGXeKk10FnUOYq-J4W0kCq9EjkLcqsKUpS0aVYe4tzVQrlbCv4VAXMis_UF9Ci8qiduApxdk_1RXRnllov3SsKYhJ1CXorkfchuluykDFWCJjBgJVntk98rU/s1600/Walmart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqJdvhGAA0WsbmfFime1mpGXeKk10FnUOYq-J4W0kCq9EjkLcqsKUpS0aVYe4tzVQrlbCv4VAXMis_UF9Ci8qiduApxdk_1RXRnllov3SsKYhJ1CXorkfchuluykDFWCJjBgJVntk98rU/s320/Walmart.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoQuote">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Big Box retail plan is not self-sustaining and it is
time we accepted that we are just pawns in the Chief Financial Officers’ board
game of economics. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoQuote">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoQuote">
<b>Wal-Mart:<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="u2">Retail Chain to Close
269 Stores, Eliminating 16,000 Jobs</span><span class="QuoteChar"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoQuote">
<span class="QuoteChar"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="QuoteChar">The decision to close the stores is
"necessary to keep the company strong and positioned for the</span>
future," Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon said in an announcement Friday.</blockquote>
<div class="MsoQuote">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There is really only one measure that the CFO’s use to
determine if a store stays in operation and that is simply profitability. It is
largely why most of the goods sold in these operations are manufactured off
shore and mostly in China now, I would think. So, in our efforts to get a “good
deal” we sacrifice local jobs (manufacturing and ultimately retail) to support
their board games.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I truly believe it is time for the sales and marketing focus
of business to return to North America (assuming you live in North America) which
is a more probable way to employ folks locally. So I look more carefully at
labels for where it is manufactured and try to buy things that are not made in
China and buy North American production, if I can find it. I also don’t shop at
big box stores much anymore. I do occasionally buy from their online locations
for items I can’t get in my local neighbourhood which is not very often now at
my stage of life—retired.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So if you see a Big Box store with a closed/for
sale/available sign on it. Just remember that it did not meet the minimum
performance scale of the CFO and all former employees are out of a job. Maybe
you should go back to your local retailer but it too has probably closed its
doors a long time ago when you switched your loyalty to the “good deal”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sadly, that is the way of retail sales in today’s world. Soon
it will be mostly online so maybe get a job with a courier service since they
will still have to deliver it to your door. But I am sure the CFO there is
pushing for more and more automation since it is cheaper in the long run, on
paper. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who the <i>#$%&</i> ever
let those dumb-asses get in charge?! The CEO’s in this world only have
themselves to blame but I guess they don’t really get too concerned since they
get a rather large salary to make those dumb decisions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I wonder what will become of all those big box buildings
that close down. Maybe this is just another electronic board game for the CFO to play with the
CEO. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-7668063815091949712015-12-10T18:36:00.000-05:002015-12-10T18:36:04.836-05:00The Bathroom Battlefield<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjU0E-H6mrlkhb6-8B3tMN8shwLv4SJcLDjmumJiKiu6CZjYmDXcvdD9hHkGKHr1k1FSk4aZo_LVKMsQfdA2ww2KPJTN4CecNB8k_55jZIhopBY3IBLIzAJrgk3PC8MT51VKUV1BrxkQM/s1600/toilet+paper+loading.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjU0E-H6mrlkhb6-8B3tMN8shwLv4SJcLDjmumJiKiu6CZjYmDXcvdD9hHkGKHr1k1FSk4aZo_LVKMsQfdA2ww2KPJTN4CecNB8k_55jZIhopBY3IBLIzAJrgk3PC8MT51VKUV1BrxkQM/s320/toilet+paper+loading.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not the wrong way, an alternate way!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
I just posted a reply to a friend’s Facebook page regarding
the “correct” way to load a roll of toilet paper in our favourite reading room
aka the bathroom. Well, it seems it triggered a whole other wave of things that
women are almost ready to go to war over and that is the seat should be down,
the cover too, and the bathroom door should be closed at all times (the latter
was in response to my comment regarding if you had pets, there is a better way
to load a roll of toilet paper, so I feel there is no “correct” way to load it.
Just make it easy to find and forget the folded dart for visitors. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have you
ever seen a cat jump up and spin a doorknob to open a door? My brother had a
cat like that. He could also open windows by pushing them up with his
shoulders. The cat, not my brother.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The basic problem regarding the household bathroom is it is
designed by women for women and men are allowed to use it if they follow their
rules. I honestly think the bathroom generally is poorly designed based on
functionality which I think is more of a masculine wish than the “make it look
pretty” feminine approach to many things. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My design would include a toilet (for
women mostly and men when the business requires that you sit down), bidet (men,
it is not a drinking fountain), shower (to get clean), bathtub (for women to
soak in to get away from their daily troubles—often the man in the household)
and a urinal designed by men with a self-cleaning/closing device to keep it out
of sight and smell of the visitors. The room itself would have compartments
with separate doors to let more than one person use it at a time since it is
probably the most needed room in the house after the kitchen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And it would have all those display only things that women
do for visitors like the soaps in trays and little towels that no one who lives
in the house is allowed to use EVER except maybe if needed for first aid
assistance for an accidental event that results in bleeding. Just make sure
that individual is close to death, otherwise use the toilet paper if you can
figure out if it was loaded “correctly”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ultimately, the best solution is really only available to
those families that have an over-sized ego box for a home so they could do what
all restaurants and businesses do already and that is separate rooms for men
and women to do their biological business. But we know that will never happen
because women insist on constantly redesigning the home that they pretty much
made all the buying decisions on selecting the one of her choice. Mostly the
man is only concerned about the fridge, garage, backyard and TV viewing room so
the rest of the house is not a high priority for him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But of course, this discussion never happens in any house
between a husband and wife because the smart husband knows this is in the
category of “Does this dress make me look fat”. The moral here is there is no
way you can win in this discussion, so you find ways to get out of getting
involved in that discussion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, I am single. It is easier on my blood pressure and
doesn’t trigger anxiety attacks. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-81125306700730912052015-08-06T19:53:00.007-04:002015-08-06T19:55:00.357-04:00If Computer Game Programmers Ran All Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5EtMpbj9bEhnm81UzNlHOr41R1YCcMG06xC4UtYZaMu28QdgCqqy-juO3kNwT8mDGpUTEg6o22UyadwUymZdl2J0ytMdRPXx7t50rHjBKyxJ0Xn_KrwavejqBhdwd6vBtOCbLSdzRoA/s1600/sliced+white+bread+50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil5EtMpbj9bEhnm81UzNlHOr41R1YCcMG06xC4UtYZaMu28QdgCqqy-juO3kNwT8mDGpUTEg6o22UyadwUymZdl2J0ytMdRPXx7t50rHjBKyxJ0Xn_KrwavejqBhdwd6vBtOCbLSdzRoA/s320/sliced+white+bread+50.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What a mess it would be! You see their minds are tuned into
math tables and simple logic only. There is no grey area to them, not much
based on emotional responses and they are not very open to others’ ideas as a
result of this thinking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am talking about the new generation of game programming
that goes on in the Internet now where the game is constantly under
development. They no longer call it under beta since it is always facing beta
changes where the development team tries to fund the game on the fly and the
head of the team is undoubtedly another programmer. There are server costs and
certainly employee costs which are primarily code writers directed by the development
team. I very much doubt that they spend any money on marketing personnel since
they would constantly be at odds with each other since they do not think alike.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let me try to give an example of how the two minds work in a
business model. Let’s look at a bakery that just makes bread for now. The game
programmers get out their math table and figure out what price maybe one
percent of the market might pay and they figure white bread should sell for $30
a loaf to meet their immediate cost (computer, personnel and materials) and
profit needs (Ferrari Fund, since they think they have a no fail plan). And
when that doesn’t work so well, they layoff a bunch of the personnel that they
got to write the code and try to sell French bread now for $40 a loaf with a
new group of personnel that they work even harder and for less money if they
can get away with it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now the marketing driven mind recognizes that $30 a loaf is
way out of line compared to other food products (other computer games and
entertainment offerings) and sets its price more around $3 a loaf of white
bread and maybe $3.50 for the French bread. Every once in a while they offer
one of the two products on sale for $2 and $2.50 but not at the same time. And
every once in a while the marketing mind features something different like
pastries, pies, tarts or donuts at a premium price sometimes and on sale. It
all depends on how well the overall company performance is going (the Ferrari
Fund).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now if the sales department had their way, everything would
be on sale all of the time. “Let’s get everyone to buy our bread”. And that is
why the sales department and the IT (information technology) department never
get along. They just do not understand each groups approach to business.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So the reason why the new approach exists for now in online
computer games is because the programmers are creating the product without the
help of marketing minds because they honestly think their approach works. It
does for a time until the customers get fed up and go to another bakery.
Instead of trying the marketing approach they push for bread at $50 a loaf and
beyond to try and meet their cost and profit goals. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And soon they go out of business wondering what they did
wrong. Simple, they tried to do something in isolation of the real world
business market where the basic rules of economy apply and the consumer will
always go to what they see as a reasonably priced product for what they want or
need and computer games are just a diversion and not a necessity like food. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So why do they think that $50 dollars for a bunch of game tokens/gems/diamonds/coins
that only give maybe $5 of value compared to other entertainment products? It
is simply because they think their product is better than everyone else’s offering
because they developed it and they need more money to keep it going. The
consumer market will tell them soon enough if it is worth anything. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Don’t order your Ferrari’s anytime soon boys.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-61651548571804019592015-07-19T14:04:00.000-04:002015-07-19T14:04:08.589-04:00Is Western Society Devolving?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNrD1G-foJXIVLc2beL2c_lJgNtDEObxDUiaPooPXP5FWa3qk2RHRd1vT4Lnc974Tr6VOf1WW1KG5sqUNV10TuJsIGjnMAuOPjGIsy2d5dgiCO_LcYHe780h35jlVkX8Kg63bEpVrxVQ/s1600/three+r+with+respect.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNrD1G-foJXIVLc2beL2c_lJgNtDEObxDUiaPooPXP5FWa3qk2RHRd1vT4Lnc974Tr6VOf1WW1KG5sqUNV10TuJsIGjnMAuOPjGIsy2d5dgiCO_LcYHe780h35jlVkX8Kg63bEpVrxVQ/s320/three+r+with+respect.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
First of all devolve is not truly the opposite of evolve. A
more appropriate word would be degenerate as a verb denoting losing stature
from the previous ranking, or other form of measurement, and as a noun, where
the person has lost values like morality, quality of life, and skill sets. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the major reasons why western society is degenerating
(in my opinion) is the lack of teaching/learning of the 3 R’s (Reading, ‘riting,
‘rithmetic—Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic) and, one can argue, the 4<sup>th</sup>
R, which is Respect. It seems to me that along with the first three, western
society has lost a lot of respect for its own culture. It could also be argued
that this is a worldwide problem in that values have now degenerated below the
levels that our parents and grandparents once held in such high esteem.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Text messaging is a major contributor to the degeneration of
communication between individuals. Nothing gets more confusing as all those
short forms that people use to speed through the communication process, simply because
the tool is just not that well suited for the job. You can also argue that it
is a sign of lack of respect for the other person since the individual is too
lazy to take the time to communicate what is really being said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I fear for today’s youth and what they will face in the
future trying to cope with everyday life. I believe they are not properly armed
with the tools to deal with all things in life. Yes I am older and hang on to
values and teachings that were passed on to me by not just teachers but members
of the community that actually cared and knew each other more than just to wave
at each other in the driveway. That was the respect they all had for each
other, even if at times they got upset with what they might be doing. Maybe
everyone needs that white picket fence between each yard and take the time to
share a cup of coffee or a brown pop and some basic respectful conversation
like I saw in my neighbourhood growing up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what’s the solution to this problem? It is quite easy to
just spout what is wrong with the world today because you see and hear it every
day in this “show me drama in the news” world. I think it involves a return to
the everyday practice of the 4 R’s all over the world. That also means we
should respect our heritage, our own country first, those that help protect our
daily lives and look inwards first before we go and try to “save” the other
countries and minority groups out there. The fact of the matter is they really
don’t want interference in their lives and we actually disrespect that wish by
sticking our nose into their business. Let them work out their own problems and
let’s focus on our own internal problems, before we make devolve a standard word
in our limited vocabulary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Easy speak is a language that only results in degenerated communication.
Say what you mean by taking the time to convey the true feeling of the content
of your thoughts. W’ats Up! doesn’t cut it in my opinion.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>…how did the 3 r’s
degenerate into a symbol for recycling (reduce, reuse, recycling). Yep it is an
important issue but by paying to attention to the original ones plus respect,
the recycling issue is a no-brainer!<br />
…how’s that for a good example of devolution in today’s world?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-66926299153397270462015-06-26T22:10:00.000-04:002015-06-26T22:10:19.753-04:00Yep, I’m Old Enough to Remember…<h3>
…why I write this stuff.</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG31T1MFnaYHQBVPz7VJwQdRbfiq9KvrHuKAvWteD3H9ip2o8FN9erunx0w4-SuhEnM84JIrdK8iHGMSvT7dKgvMTZhQkKnGGmqkqxb9cQ-qZeIda58J2-tzId6suHtExy6c6-9EckJ08/s1600/out+of+toilet+paper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG31T1MFnaYHQBVPz7VJwQdRbfiq9KvrHuKAvWteD3H9ip2o8FN9erunx0w4-SuhEnM84JIrdK8iHGMSvT7dKgvMTZhQkKnGGmqkqxb9cQ-qZeIda58J2-tzId6suHtExy6c6-9EckJ08/s1600/out+of+toilet+paper.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Better be more around here!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It certainly isn’t for the money! There is no better way to
be poor than to write for someone else for what they consider reasonable
amounts of money—especially on the Internet. A penny for your thoughts comes to
mind because they like to pay about that or less per word.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I write because I enjoy it most of the time when life hasn’t
dealt some not so nice blows. It reminds me of what is important in life like
friendship, kindness, health and bum wipe. Making people laugh is a form of an
act of kindness and lots of folks need that today with all that goes on now. So
not all that I write is humorous because sometimes too I have had my own bummer
experiences.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Oh yeah, you are on your own on the bum wipe. The Internet
is mostly paperless now (if you do it properly) and besides the exercise of
going to the store is good for your health. I got your back but not down there.
You are on your own. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have a great day. BTW stuff has many synonyms.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3>
…my mom hanging the clothes to dry on a clothesline (in
winter!!).</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsh5FLrtDJdhpuGuLRKZT3Ht63J8VaiO657qK_o5JNDdCUa6hayxGxalHRUgB3fhhx_-qPaa9IzQeZ01ktClE26OniQ_HPOh3oo7xjOOKGaABabF9a6y89kG6mpuBU9ocAdMpQMq8QaY/s1600/clothesline+with+brake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJsh5FLrtDJdhpuGuLRKZT3Ht63J8VaiO657qK_o5JNDdCUa6hayxGxalHRUgB3fhhx_-qPaa9IzQeZ01ktClE26OniQ_HPOh3oo7xjOOKGaABabF9a6y89kG6mpuBU9ocAdMpQMq8QaY/s320/clothesline+with+brake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Improvised wind brake for the clothesline</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The clothes dryer was not a common appliance in our
neighbourhood when I was a tyke. My mom also did the wash in one of the ringer
type machines that squeezed out the excess water when she fed them through the
powered ringers prior to them being put in the laundry basket for the trip to
the backyard.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And sometimes it was cold in the winter so the clothes froze
and got kind of stiff but there were two advantages to that happening. Firstly,
they had this really fresh smell and secondly, the clothes were board-like
stiff so they made for great kitchen wars with my brothers. We would take the
stiffened clothes and whack away until the inside heat kind of softened them up
or Mom got us to stop but we all still had a good laugh doing it (including
Mom).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The neighbours also hung their clothes out to dry on their
lines as well. Mrs. B down the road a bit (like 3 backyards) was a little
different. She hung their clothes out on the line while smoking a cigar and
when she got to Mr. B’s combination underwear well it created quite a few
chuckles. Seems Mrs. B was not into the use of bleach and the white long johns
were more of a kind of grey shade with cigar colour stains down in the bum wipe
area. Mr. B was kind of full of hot air but I guess he let some go every once
in a while.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t ever remember being inside their house. I think
there were a few good reasons. <o:p></o:p></div>
<h3>
<br />…bread and milk being delivered to the house and the delivery
guy got off a horse drawn wagon.</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimdolF23ZEBvua2GzTeSqcpuNjKOrM6h1Pw3ua4Idhb2hEs7hLAWv2RJMOOApSqYLOH2rbONJHjqDXSkgl_F0x1z38AhY2rS_1HBh_OKkGpfbi6bBNyNuMKAlOBS4sPMQXGFuIBw8CNOA/s1600/tethered+horse+drawn+wagon+anchor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimdolF23ZEBvua2GzTeSqcpuNjKOrM6h1Pw3ua4Idhb2hEs7hLAWv2RJMOOApSqYLOH2rbONJHjqDXSkgl_F0x1z38AhY2rS_1HBh_OKkGpfbi6bBNyNuMKAlOBS4sPMQXGFuIBw8CNOA/s320/tethered+horse+drawn+wagon+anchor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Living in the city, you really lose out on being close to a
lot of animals like country folks do every day so when we heard the clop-clop
of hooves of the majestic beast pulling that cart, we ran out from everywhere
to just go up and pet that visitor to our neighbourhood. No not the delivery
guy, the horse you bozo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The horse was very content because it mostly would have a
feed bag of oats or something strapped on and it would even know when to stop
to make a delivery. The driver would put out the “anchor” that I guess would
just help slow down the horse due to extra weight if it bolted for some reason (in the picture above without the tether).
Mostly it just chomped away on the oats since it also had blinders on to screen
motion from the left or right some. And since it was eating, it needed to make
room for the new oats in its gut and would drop a road apple or two. Well that
would attract some of the mothers in the neighbourhood who were raised in farm
country and they would go running for the garden spade to get the warm road
apples for purposes of fertilizing something in the household garden. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seems Mrs. B never took part in that neighbourhood game. I’m
thinking she didn’t come from farm country. It would have been quite the
picture though of her running to get a garden spade with a stogie hanging from
her mouth. Maybe that is how Mr. B got those marks down around the bum wipe
area of his combination underwear. Nah, he didn’t need help. It was pretty obvious he was full of it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-24046243859986265182015-06-26T17:48:00.000-04:002015-06-26T17:48:13.077-04:00I’m Old Enough to Remember…<h3>
…when colas were brown.</h3>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjapYdQhQJA7NEzcVnFp2qI4nBhkqnR6rqMvg1o9tqqhHLm6OAzuS2_dvl1pLklVAHU4Ted7LkA-mmLbOhMnKzaCItCY0veZtLMY_x2kKhEVBfEfeY1dbmtiMKLMvzwTkDYfIYUPzAWkUI/s1600/coca+cola+lighter+brown.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjapYdQhQJA7NEzcVnFp2qI4nBhkqnR6rqMvg1o9tqqhHLm6OAzuS2_dvl1pLklVAHU4Ted7LkA-mmLbOhMnKzaCItCY0veZtLMY_x2kKhEVBfEfeY1dbmtiMKLMvzwTkDYfIYUPzAWkUI/s320/coca+cola+lighter+brown.png" width="172" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It seems to me that all of today’s “bottled” colas, root
beers, iced teas, etc. are almost black in colour and that has much to do with
the current process of caramelization used to produce the colorant in these
liquid products. I don’t think the green bottle had anything to do with the
colour being more of a darker brown tone. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fact that the process produces a
cheaper ingredient than the old one should be of no surprise since it fits with
the “bean counter” approach to all businesses now. Apparently it also makes for
no calories and most likely because it has no food value at all. I also
understand that the process uses a form of “rat poison” to make the darker
additive. The MSDS sheet for that modifier says it is quite nasty. Some believe
that the colouring can cause cancer but that is a little difficult to prove.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I don’t drink colas anymore after giving up on rum and cokes
because they made me feel not so good after consuming a bunch and it was not
the rum that did it since drinking just rum on ice or even with soda did not
provide the same level of discomfort. So you can have your colas, I am much
happier drinking juices instead now and even get some food value in some of
them (the ones that provide Vitamin C and other vitamins). The new colas don’t
taste anywhere the way I remember the colas of my youth so once again big
business, you messed up a good thing in search of greater profits, well for me
anyway, not that I can break your bank. By the way, I make my own <a href="http://bozoplay.hubpages.com/hub/Lemon-Ice-Tea-using-the-Microwave">iced
tea</a> at home now as well.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h3>
…trough urinals at sporting events.</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kKISvKM-RKjTf9kYX7eE_jF1PbP3RYxPjchRSCgKcqLzybFM2v8W45zS63_2rUD7hRx-99Ci3CqhJfbmfVSQcKQfTB0U9D89NoQJT1TPyuayz4qFi0DaYkZq82DgYl3LrzRltJJaQJ8/s1600/trough+urinals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2kKISvKM-RKjTf9kYX7eE_jF1PbP3RYxPjchRSCgKcqLzybFM2v8W45zS63_2rUD7hRx-99Ci3CqhJfbmfVSQcKQfTB0U9D89NoQJT1TPyuayz4qFi0DaYkZq82DgYl3LrzRltJJaQJ8/s320/trough+urinals.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Specifically, they were most definitely in the men’s’
washrooms in Maple Leaf Gardens, I believe in the Grandstand at CNE Stadium and
I think also at Maple Leaf Stadium (all sports venues with historical routes in
the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Back in the day, you couldn’t buy
alcoholic beverages at these venues (I was way too young anyway, drinking age
was 21 then), but they did serve very bad soft drinks made with syrup,
carbonated water and lots of ice and it was inevitable you had to relieve
yourself sooner or later. Generally, that was a break in a game or event
(period, inning, quarter, between stock car races, etc.) and you only had so
much time to use these ugly long porcelain troughs ( I remember some were more
like 50 feet long not the 6-8 feet like in the picture).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So a whole bunch of guys made their way up to these ice-less
wonders (seems some pictures showed where someone actually dumped a bunch of
ice in them, not at these venues!) and commenced to “draining the snipe”, “doing
God’s work”, “taking a leak”, etc. and, lo and behold, the river flowed by as
you tried to get this unpleasantness over as quickly as possible. I don’t
remember how I actually reached the level of some of these troughs when I was
smaller (like 8 or 9), and maybe there were step up stools under the trough but
would you reach under that for one. I don’t think so.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And to wash your hands there was this big circular trough
thing with soap dispensers set back too far for us little guys and the water
was released by you stepping on a foot rail but to get at the water you had to
lean over and you got off the foot rail so you had to wait for someone bigger
to do that for you. I don’t miss either of these poorly conceived contraptions
in a men’s washroom but they were sort of efficient for a larger crowds as long
as you didn’t breathe deeply.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<h3>
…when milk came in a glass jug.</h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nD2HyGu5fjsPk6RsT5csQiL6pN2i3XgZujNJC5gCnVNhE3sAEmx_R4RXxKvGSJMe_t3hyphenhyphenN9qBo4W2mIkXl4Q56lDmyeBvKb6hddkIsrALjQn0opzmSN1bEHmF3wTplKkB92RHz9NIzs/s1600/old+milk+bottle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-nD2HyGu5fjsPk6RsT5csQiL6pN2i3XgZujNJC5gCnVNhE3sAEmx_R4RXxKvGSJMe_t3hyphenhyphenN9qBo4W2mIkXl4Q56lDmyeBvKb6hddkIsrALjQn0opzmSN1bEHmF3wTplKkB92RHz9NIzs/s1600/old+milk+bottle.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes originally it was available in various quart bottles but
I am talking about the first attempts to sell it in larger sizes since a quart
didn’t go very far in any household with any number of kids or pets. Many argue
that milk tastes better in glass bottles or jugs than in cartons or today’s
plastic bags.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The inherent problem with the glass jug is that it was hard
to handle or pour especially in the hands of young tykes like us and
occasionally the plastic handle would just decide to break and you ended up
with a milk lake in the kitchen complete with many shards of broken glass. It
would immediately seek its way under the stove and refrigerator and hide in
various other places. Soured milk does not smell very nice! And like glass soft
drink bottles, you had to return them to a store for the deposit, usually to
get another jug and they were quite heavy for little tykes to carry and get
home in one piece.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a time that it was sold in plastic jugs but I
think it was very difficult to sterilize those containers properly so they were
replaced by today’s bag-o-milk approach which seems to work well enough as long
as one of the bags don’t decide to spring a leak or get poked open accidentally.
Then you just get a slower version of the milk lake but no shards of glass,
thankfully. Those buggers were difficult to find in the lake of milk on
the floor. Also the bag-o-milk takes away the return for deposit problem but
creates another environmental problem of its own.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well I’m not going to solve the problem of how milk should
be packaged but rest assured that I will continue to buy milk because what
would you drink with cookies, if there was no milk—cookies and water? I suppose
you would suggest I eat Cheerio’s with some form of juice drink (most of them
are just sugar and water with some colouring. Read the label if you don’t
believe that one).<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-80836601377002040892015-06-25T11:26:00.000-04:002015-06-25T15:35:42.355-04:00Fly High Sweet Girl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhmDrTqRQoRjao6_wS1VHIdXBQ_gTy7NuGJSIYBgWW68MygpEi2et1FNW0uGhmsnUKsbqvx1zfwEdEoys_mLEcgrohMRPOggai7ygzuuxwyFhpCuz5yF-CAUD6pjV_3SWf0WgU0oSQ-_s/s1600/sharon+in+the+ocean+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhmDrTqRQoRjao6_wS1VHIdXBQ_gTy7NuGJSIYBgWW68MygpEi2et1FNW0uGhmsnUKsbqvx1zfwEdEoys_mLEcgrohMRPOggai7ygzuuxwyFhpCuz5yF-CAUD6pjV_3SWf0WgU0oSQ-_s/s320/sharon+in+the+ocean+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Intro)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You sat on the porch<br />
While we talked on the phone<br />
So many miles<br />
But it still felt like home<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I so liked to talk to you<br />
Given the choice<br />
Music to my ears<br />
Was the sound of your voice<br />
<br />
We shared all our dreams<br />
And even some pain<br />
Oh I how just wish<br />
To do it over again<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But now you are gone<br />
To a place far away<br />
I know that you thought<br />
You’d be better that way<br />
<br />
Fly high sweet girl<br />
Some memories just fade<br />
But some will hang on<br />
Like the good ones we made<br />
<br />
Fly high sweet girl<br />
We miss you so much<br />
Lucky are the few<br />
That got to know your touch<br />
<br />
Fly high sweet girl<br />
Yes I miss you so much<br />
And what would I do<br />
Just to feel that touch<br />
<br />
So fly high sweet girl<br />
Yes memories will fade<br />
But some still hang on<br />
Like the good ones we made<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
(outro)</div>
</div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-29343897886630213182015-04-07T16:53:00.000-04:002015-04-07T16:53:19.047-04:00As We Get Older, Is Our Memory Fading?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbIUs8PaH-m486UqjLbGqLIs7JfgMflDDH5UBAlg-ASp0RHzp-xYq90PN00ibdQ_WvhyphenhyphenWFdAM3XDMideCrkvCi7R4idiuj-SI8DstPrcEKW9bVo17dUUcJ_9cyi4UUoNz60EP8ImQTQc/s1600/brain+activity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigbIUs8PaH-m486UqjLbGqLIs7JfgMflDDH5UBAlg-ASp0RHzp-xYq90PN00ibdQ_WvhyphenhyphenWFdAM3XDMideCrkvCi7R4idiuj-SI8DstPrcEKW9bVo17dUUcJ_9cyi4UUoNz60EP8ImQTQc/s1600/brain+activity.jpg" height="296" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
Lots of folks complain that this is happening and they
actually feel that it is deteriorating as the years add up. Is it really fading
away or is there a more reasonable answer as to what is truly happening? I
think (like my boss back in the 80’s told me) that it is just simply a function
of all the data we get thrown at us on a daily basis and that the pea we have
for a brain can only hold so much so less important information gets moved to
less used areas or just plain flushed. I will share an exercise I use to help
bring back some of those memories later in the article.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The most important way to improve your memory is to know
where to find the information you are seeking and often that is a simple google
search nowadays. You get instant access to lots of related information and you
get to decide which one is correct for your search. In fact, one piece I found
is that we get five times more information thrown at us on a daily basis as we
did back in the day when my boss pointed out that the brain has a limited capacity.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In fact, the neuroscientists are kind of at odds about the
capacity of the brain but we will use the concept that it can hold 2.5
petabytes (approx. 2500 terabytes) or about 500-1000 of the currently available
external hard drives you can buy at your local electronics store or more
likely, online now. So at the cost of about $50/terabyte that would mean you
could have storage available in house for the cost of $125,000 plus taxes plus
shipping of course. I found all of this pretty useless information via google
just for those that think it might be important.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background: #F4F4F4; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="background: #F4F4F4; color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.infodocket.com/2014/04/16/how-large-is-the-digital-universe-how-fast-is-it-growing-2014-emc-digital-universe-study-now-available/">Due, in part, to this Internet of Things, the digital
universe is doubling in size every two years and will multiply 10-fold between
2013 and 2020 – from 4.4 trillion gigabytes to 44 trillion gigabytes.</a></span><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
You can waste your time trying to figure out the overall size of that information pool if you like, but I think it would be wise just to go look for things you might really need on the Internet than trying to put your head around that concept. Some folks actually waste their time trying to figure out all these numbers. They need to spend more time swimming in a different kind of pool and drinking some tropical refreshments and enjoying all of the ambience present in that kind of an environment.<br /><br />So the real point is that you get swamped with junk on a daily basis and you can’t possibly retain it all so get used to not remembering stuff. I sometimes play a game with myself to try to remember say the last name of a gal I met over 30 years ago in one of those tropical environments that I used to visit. I would start with just the knowledge of her first name and go through the alphabet and rule out the ones that didn’t fit and eventually her actual last name and spelling would pop out. (Usually this type of exercise takes place about 4 in the morning and I can’t get back to sleep until I get the answer.) Needless to say, this type of information is not likely to be found via google searches.<br /><br />Another one I play is something like this; name the police show that starred Daniel J. Travanti and Veronica Hamel back in another time. Yeah I will play with the alphabet game thing for like 15 seconds and then start using google to find all the answers much more quickly. I think this is why older folks should not go on Jeopardy (yes the ones who are the same age as Alex). He is nowhere near as smart as the show makes him look to be. Next time you see him in public through 10 quick questions at him and do a quick “nahhhhh” for each wrong or no answer he gets. He isn’t that dumb really, it is more likely that he just suffers from so much information overload and that show spends lots of time making it even more confusing than necessary.<br /><br />You aren’t losing your memory. It is being overloaded so learn how to flush what is not important right now and enjoy life.<br /><br /> <br /><br /> Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-65207901236593991052015-04-05T00:45:00.000-04:002015-04-05T00:45:42.034-04:00So if there is a Heaven, How Big is it?<div style="border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 0in 0in 4.0pt 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjASV-tTjApwvRjKLflwGS5dRAgtb3iV347kW38OSDtelyRI0P5QFKyuFTmzbErHnjLlO_1ZoB6DvWntYZt0-nMWwe8uWCZ_bJJ5mbUI18g7nPBfiKNeQIMIDeqdomXjM7gDd8fkMoPzIk/s1600/Heaven+Can+Wait.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjASV-tTjApwvRjKLflwGS5dRAgtb3iV347kW38OSDtelyRI0P5QFKyuFTmzbErHnjLlO_1ZoB6DvWntYZt0-nMWwe8uWCZ_bJJ5mbUI18g7nPBfiKNeQIMIDeqdomXjM7gDd8fkMoPzIk/s1600/Heaven+Can+Wait.jpg" height="187" width="320" /></a></div>
And for that matter, is the other place bigger, slightly
bigger, a whole lot bigger or possibly even smaller?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You see the experts figure that so far the overall
population of the earth has exceeded 100 billion folks since man first appeared
on earth so a good portion of those folks are already there. The current
population of this planet is around 7.5 billion and always getting bigger.
Since it can be crowded to absolutely underpopulated on this Earth (depending
upon where you live), is Heaven crowded like New York or Tokyo-style or are
there places like Alaska, the Sahara Desert or Antarctica where there is a lot
more room to move around before you bump into your neighbour? OK maybe the
Sahara Desert is more likely for the other place.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do you need to use the bathroom in Heaven? Well, if you do,
the line-ups could be rather long don’t you think? I had a friend that said in
her beliefs that Heaven is a place where you would never feel pain or want for
anything. So I would think that in her Heaven you would not need to go to the
bathroom since it can be painful sometimes and you certainly wouldn't want to
wait in any line-up which would just add to the pain. Who would get the job of
cleaning up those bathrooms??<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do you have to sleep in Heaven, or are you always awake and
aware of what is going on around you, and maybe even aware of the current
happenings on the planet you just left which brings up another question. Are
there people from other planets in Heaven? Do they speak the same language as
you and do all the other folks from other countries speak the same language so
you can all understand each other?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do they play sports in Heaven? And what kind of games would
you possibly play? Her phrase “you would never feel pain or want for anything”
kind of makes you wonder about sports because my experience with sports
involved pain and someone has to lose so it makes it harder to want for that
one since the other guy or gal feels the pain of losing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So realistically, Heaven is a personal thing for each and
every person around you. It is what each one believes it to be for them, and
there is not much point in you trying to figure it all out. You already have
enough confusion in your life to try and figure that one out. It is either
going to be there or it isn't and you won’t know whether you go there or to the
other place until you pass on. So hopefully you are in no hurry to find out the
answer and can enjoy your time here on Earth. We are all going to be dead for a
very long time, so maybe it is better not to rush the process but that is my
personal belief. It is up to you with what you do with your life and we should
just learn to respect that for what it is.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Maybe we do all end up meeting each other in Heaven. How do
you explain some of those folks to your Mom? Do they serve hors d’oeuvres and
refreshments all the time or pizza and beer or cabbage rolls and whiskey or
cake and ice cream? This stuff is all way beyond my little pea brain and I can
wait for the answers to those questions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Heaven Can Wait and yes that was a really good movie too. Or
there was more than one? Do they show movies in heaven? They better because she
loves movies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-50541790920054369522015-01-25T13:40:00.000-05:002015-01-25T13:40:08.262-05:00When the Good Memories Rise to the Top<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcvdlb9k2m3c2cuifmmxfyIu125EcdgGeXBAKwnhwqxn1p0NeCtbPDDGLduKQL2xf9F_5aqAnuGvWCW1JP9YQPL6qoPal_LeITq25Dv7cQfHYj3hz4NQMCnu4B-SnOOJy4bJ0dNOmfew/s1600/Sharon+Philosophy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYcvdlb9k2m3c2cuifmmxfyIu125EcdgGeXBAKwnhwqxn1p0NeCtbPDDGLduKQL2xf9F_5aqAnuGvWCW1JP9YQPL6qoPal_LeITq25Dv7cQfHYj3hz4NQMCnu4B-SnOOJy4bJ0dNOmfew/s1600/Sharon+Philosophy.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She posted this on her page</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
Losing someone special starts with the rage of how horrible
that news is, especially since the loss of an individual who has earned that honour is so
rare. A true friend really asks nothing of you other than to be their friend and
when that person shares the pain they keep hidden inside, it can sometimes
leave you without any response at all.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So you find ways to go forward and try to make sense out of
how others near to them can ignore the calls for help and see them as just
everyday complaining and excessive drama. The anxiety attacks are seen as
overreaction and simply get brushed aside and the depression that person faces
is mostly taken on alone. We are not trained in how to deal with that type of
pain, especially in our earlier years. Many doctors continually prescribe
medications for mental pain the same way they do for physical pain like
fibromyalgia and migraines.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Personally, I believe most doctors are mostly just trained
to give out prescriptions to keep feeding the pharmaceutical industry and it is
purely a business for them. Compassion, caring and understanding are seldom
ever found in a doctor’s office. The amount of time those in need wait in the “waiting
room” is a prime of example of the lack of those characteristics in the medical
profession. No doubt, it has a lot to do with the time and training that is
required to get a license to practice medicine. It can dull your sense of consideration.
Just once, I would like to meet a doctor that does more than just practice on
its patients and actually get into the medical game with a full commitment. I
guess those few are tied up with folks who have a lot of money.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But I have digressed once more, which seems to be quite
common in my writing style. It’s time to honour the important folks I have lost
over the years and you can do the same in your own way. One of the positive strengths
of the human personality is its ability to find good out of bad. In order to
deal with the negative parts, we look back on what made that person so exceptional—the
good memories begin rising to the top.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So you find the joy you brought to each other in your times
together, like the sound of someone’s laugh that comes from the toes and is
like no other you have ever heard before. You remember the pleasure it gave you
changing sadness into happiness by making someone laugh that hard. You remember simple sounds or a short phrase
that brought a smile to your face, like the tone my computer made when I
received a chat request from her that often just said “Call me, please”. How
could you ever refuse such a simple request? I never did.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Meeting someone you can truly talk to about just almost
anything is so rare in today’s I-Me-Mine world and that is something I will
miss the most. I truly really did not care what she wanted to talk about
because we almost always enjoyed our talks together. It went from helping her
with the technical side of games we played together online to what our dreams
were to spiritual beliefs to all manner of life experiences. Simply stated, we
were just sharing with each other. We were trying to get to really know each
other like no one else I have ever known before.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But sadly, real life situations in her local surroundings
started to feed the depression and I felt like someone trying to pump up an
inner tube she was floating on called life, but situations, medical conditions
and others were all poking small holes into that tube. Eventually, it is more
than one person can do to keep the tube inflated and that truly beautiful
person can tread water no more. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so you are left with just memories and what
she would have wanted is that the good ones will always float to the top. Each
day they do, but the sadness is still there for her. I can only hope that she
has found the peace that she so richly deserves for what I will remember most
is how a small statured person like her (5 foot one and a half inches tall) could
have a heart so big with all that happened in her life. I told her several
times that she must have an invisible tractor trailer to carry the rest of her
heart because her body was just not big enough for all that caring.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think tears are just the body’s way of releasing pain in a
controlled manner while some would argue that they have cried uncontrollably. I
think that is just a measure of releasing a lot of pain. I leave you with the
first two lines of Go Rest High on that Mountain by Vince Gill. (Music has always
been a strong part of my makeup even if I don’t perform it that well but it
really helped during this sad period).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I know your life on
earth was troubled,<br />
Only you could know the pain<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I wish that you will Go Rest High on that Mountain,
girl. I have been blessed having known you and so have so many others that you
may not think have felt that way. You filled up the room on your entrance and
that is what I remember most about our first meeting. I had to get to know you
and it was so worth it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-67041812468856676632015-01-11T12:41:00.001-05:002015-01-11T12:42:30.912-05:00A Tribute to Bandit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePbopOFUkhnIZUkOpGqYGtAZewPos-zR9gpoPTsIfA795wwqsdIDuQ9hk_aqb2ZnNSJyVnqe_eMwPCyREINa5THqyCenKm-y1CjyC-3M9c0ZL3YMSGq1ZKPOChTfZzbrvtWaTIZe0z0o/s1600/sharon+in+the+ocean+fire+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePbopOFUkhnIZUkOpGqYGtAZewPos-zR9gpoPTsIfA795wwqsdIDuQ9hk_aqb2ZnNSJyVnqe_eMwPCyREINa5THqyCenKm-y1CjyC-3M9c0ZL3YMSGq1ZKPOChTfZzbrvtWaTIZe0z0o/s1600/sharon+in+the+ocean+fire+copy.jpg" height="320" width="212" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well you told me I should write more, but frankly, I was
tied up for the last few months trying to do something much more important and
that was to help you Bandito, someone who went through life under-appreciated by
those that were near to you (Your Mother being an exception and restricted by
her own health issues).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I’m not really worried about who reads this since most
people don’t read much anymore and I only write about what is important to me
and you are most definitely in that category, little one. I will direct the
post to a few that might like to read it though and you know who those are. I
am really long-winded about things that are important to me so that will stop
most everyone from reading to the end.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I met you online just 5 months ago (yes it was only five
months) and I will most definitely remember our first phone conversation in
fondness, not the content, because I truly did not understand a single word you
said. Your drawl on that day was like a 12 on a scale of 1 to 10 for me!! But I
am thankful we persevered and worked it out (and my own drawl was getting to
about a 7 or 8 I think). And finding out later that you gave me your number by
mistake (since you thought I was someone else in the game we played together
online) was just as it should be.<br />
<br />
And even funnier was your laughter (in like
the 3<sup>rd</sup> call) when I admitted that I thought “What the heck am I
getting myself into”. You have a laugh like no other I have ever heard and it
was wonderful to hear you do that even though it was that pleasant painful
type. I cannot explain the laugh. You can’t really put that combination into
words and do it justice.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And thus began a series of conversations where you shared
your life experiences with me in your most honest and direct fashion, a quality
that I truly respected in you and I did my best to return that honesty in all
our conversations, be they on the phone or in the various chat windows we used
online. Sometimes they did need translation or clarification since we really
did speak somewhat different languages even though they both are called
English.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And I was just so amazed at how someone could go through so
many hardships in life and still bring joy to the room, always trying to help
others and looking for the positive in everything. I made a commitment to try
to make you happy and it was working for a time. I sensed the joy when you
would try to embarrass me in the game by calling me Stuffy Wuffy in front of
other game friends. It did embarrass me to a point but it made me smile since
it was sort of a badge of honour you were bestowing on me and no other, like
all the times you called me friend in such a meaningful manner.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I joked about how that beep in Facebook you get when someone
pops up in chat there would haunt me in my grave, but the truth it was
something I looked forward to hearing. We made each other’s day better and it
was doing so very well. We both were running out of tail feathers with all the
laughter we provided for each other (lmtfo = laugh my tail feathers off) which was
your unique way of showing your joy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then something changed. You got more physical pain than
normal and with it came more emotional pain as well. All those medications you
had prescribed to you by your doctors weren’t working as they should and others
around you were making it worse. It started with a battle with a former friend
of yours and I experienced what you went through in a panic attack and I helped
you through it as best I could.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then came your birthday, US Thanksgiving and Christmas.
All did not provide what you wanted with the exception of what I sent you as a
gift for your birthday. Thankfully you called me from your Mom’s house then
because you disappeared from our contacts for several days and had me really
worried. It pleased me to hear you telling your Mother that I am talking to my
Canook friend, not my sister, do you think I would be this happy talking to
her? But is also saddened me that your family did not show appreciation and
your son and Mother didn’t understand the gifts I sent until you explained the
meaning behind them. They were just symbols of the person you are and who you
wanted to become. I took pride in the fact that they were digital creations
done by me and transformed into photographic art of sorts, just for you. And
you were so happy in that time on Thanksgiving; the little girl excitement was
in your voice again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then you returned back to the house where you resided
and it changed when you got the phone call from your other son who was now 17 and
you had not seen since he was 6. Losing that custody battle was so unfair for
you and did irreparable damage. And when you asked him to come to his
Grandmother’s and Grandfather’s house for Christmas to see them and see his
brother again, he was non-committal and you became suspicious that his father
(your ex) was up to something as he was so many times with you before.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so you did not go to your Mother’s house for Christmas
and were by yourself and we talked very little through that and New Years and
it affected me as well. I was not my usual supportive self with you and was
disappointed that I could do nothing to really help. The conversations got more
one-sided and I was listening to all the things that were hurting you now and
it was draining me and I did not know what to do to make it better so the
conversations were not as good as they were before.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then they stopped. I thought it was like Thanksgiving
and you would appear when you were ready. I checked your posts for activity and
then I saw a big red rose and a post saying that you had passed away and you were
no longer with us. I was crushed. I had failed you. I had to piece together
what happened by reading the obituary and all the posts that people made
sharing their sadness for your loss. I know I will never truly know what was
going through your mind that night but I know your heart was broken and your
depression took you down your final road.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I can take some comfort in knowing you believed that you
went to a place where you would want for nothing and never feel pain again
because you endured more than any one person should ever had in one lifetime.
If you measure beauty on more than just outward appearance (and the older
photographs of you show you were that for sure) you will go down as the most
beautiful woman I have had the pleasure of knowing in my lifetime. And I hope
that the Internet connection in heaven is a good one and not like the one at
your Mom’s house and you get to read this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know I was not there for you in your final hours on Earth
as I should have been for I too was suffering some from the post-holiday crappers
and I will be forever sad that I could not do something to help you. It was out
of my power now. I ran out of band aids to fix all the wounds you had.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so on the day of your funeral I wore out my computer and
piano playing Go Rest High on That Mountain which you shared with me months ago
as your wish to have it played at your funeral. I do hope the people who were
at your actual funeral got the message as to why you were no longer with us.
People need to be loved and need to know that they are appreciated for who they
are and what they did for you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I will change the words that Vince Gill wrote (so very well)
as I sing them to you.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I know your life on earth
was troubled<br />
Only you could know the pain<br />
You weren’t afraid to face the devil<br />
You were no stranger to the pain<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Go Rest High on that
Mountain<br />
Girl your work on earth is done<br />
Go to Heaven a shoutin’<br />
Love for the father and the son<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And every January 6<sup>th</sup> (the day you left us), I
will continue to do that on what I will now call “Appreciation Day” to honour
your memory. The many heartfelt condolences that I got to read on your Facebook
page and in the game, are all testaments to the impact you had on others. You
were appreciated more from afar than you were from near and that is just so
wrong.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I would urge anyone reading this to maybe take that day and
do something that you think is appropriate and show someone that you truly
appreciate who they are and what they do for you. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Go rest high on that mountain, girl. I will miss you always.
My biggest regret is never to have met you in person or to touch or hug you.
But it was all worth it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-74226297562226582922014-10-21T13:19:00.001-04:002014-10-21T13:19:09.283-04:00Good Idears<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1aZZatHPYBgOPPG_XxuC5gf8lMAQOlmoJ4EssgIrQEOJ-nJHDMZPED376aEwar1_dxPEYUynRCGQ1kYSpBWZEqD_0LGnC-s0JDbxqgChE371FBiFtcOaWVm8HWz2d4B-g5fLPlpg8zg/s1600/what+you+looking+at+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1aZZatHPYBgOPPG_XxuC5gf8lMAQOlmoJ4EssgIrQEOJ-nJHDMZPED376aEwar1_dxPEYUynRCGQ1kYSpBWZEqD_0LGnC-s0JDbxqgChE371FBiFtcOaWVm8HWz2d4B-g5fLPlpg8zg/s1600/what+you+looking+at+copy.jpg" height="320" width="211" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
A lot of Facebook posts most always seem to tickle my fancy and start
the day off on a good note. Here are some of my favourite off-the-wall guidelines
for living a happy life that are inspired by these posts. The real key is to
never take things too seriously and you will just be fine. Laughter is a very
strong medicine and is absolutely free.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
…so why they hell are you so serious all the time!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Silence is better than bullshit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pizza, beer, chocolate and ice cream make up the four
essential food groups. (Your alcohol preference may vary and you can substitute
your own there).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If it ain’t broke, then why the hell are you tryin’ to fix
it!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A regular oil change keeps everything running smoothly, and
does as well in your car or truck.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If a man is in the forest, and there is no woman present, is
he still wrong? (The reason why men go hunting I think is just to give their
brain a rest from trying to figure out women)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Duct tape may one day be found to be the cure for cancer.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The middle finger has only one purpose.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We all would be better human beings if we treated each other
like we do our dogs.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pain is nature’s way of telling you that you messed up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If at first you don’t succeed, then go get another beer (you may substitute here as well).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We are all dead for a very, very long time. No need to rush to be flower food.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So learn how to enjoy life and do your best to laugh with
someone, not at them. You will amaze yourself at how attractive that type of
person is to you and they will want to return the favour in kind. It doesn't
cost anything to be nice to someone, but it sure does pay off handsomely.<o:p></o:p></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-46240207840757724452014-10-20T11:44:00.000-04:002014-10-20T11:44:33.494-04:00He Has Your Eyes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsQdF_kQTwghTdbdmJ5BFtt6yhWa9QIwu6zCPZislqFUwnG76rA08XRcOugJlsDXWJwvhIhpNuxWPrvE7Jofv9-yoXu_sq4KNtpjuE-mWgpWuIAttZxITeaAqR00ZuznpnvSaSOKIDmU/s1600/Mother+about+to+give+birth+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRsQdF_kQTwghTdbdmJ5BFtt6yhWa9QIwu6zCPZislqFUwnG76rA08XRcOugJlsDXWJwvhIhpNuxWPrvE7Jofv9-yoXu_sq4KNtpjuE-mWgpWuIAttZxITeaAqR00ZuznpnvSaSOKIDmU/s1600/Mother+about+to+give+birth+copy.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
New grandmothers, aunts and other female family members must
all be on crack at the first sight of the latest addition to their family
kinfolks. It certainly seems that way because they talk in a manner that they
seldom ever used in the presence of that family. Normally they are all bossy
like a drill sergeant getting troops ready for the next military training
session but now they get all high pitched and musical with their “coochie,
coochie, cooo” and “bless Patsy, he’s sooooooo cute”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And then they start to comparing the precious little new one’s
features to the new momma’s ones like “He’s got your eyes and nose, baby”.
This might lead to the new momma checking out to see if hers are still there
since she pretty much felt that the new one kind of took a lot more on the way
out of her during that long birth session that went on forever and forever. “Junior
just didn’t want to go and he was grabbing on to anything he could get his cute little hands on going out of the chute. I asked the doctor where the hell did
he take all that stuff ‘cause it ain’t there no more or at least feels like it”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the in-laws now all do the comparison one-uppity style
like with that same high pitched and musical tone like before “Ohhhh, he looks
just like his daddy” which gets the new momma thinking “What he’s two foot
tall, has next to no hair, a penis the size of my pinkie and smiles when he
farts (well OK the last two are probably true)”. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The new daddy might as well
have one that size or not at all because after that “sperience” momma is not
letting him anywhere near her for the next long while. “Get your trouser snake
away from me, that thing is nothing but trouble and I just get a whole heap of
pain for months on end. You already proved to me you are a pain in the ass, and
now you want to spread it all over my body like a big tub of margarine. Not on
my watch. Noooooooo”.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-24412834092706009902014-10-09T12:07:00.003-04:002014-10-09T12:07:42.485-04:00My New Family Must All Be Drunk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_NmWxfo1OJHJfOBQsFWk208bWrqEL5QS9dRGgmUdoMBTN7OWLPNIY-NNyizBqyBHX7imwKXV-hkisrh_mejY2XYpDFNlTINuA45QAO83xSkO7t-l_HeXgB1lNegW2LitutCqrK-aYh00/s1600/drunk+scottish+uncle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_NmWxfo1OJHJfOBQsFWk208bWrqEL5QS9dRGgmUdoMBTN7OWLPNIY-NNyizBqyBHX7imwKXV-hkisrh_mejY2XYpDFNlTINuA45QAO83xSkO7t-l_HeXgB1lNegW2LitutCqrK-aYh00/s1600/drunk+scottish+uncle.jpg" height="320" width="244" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
<i>...Gollybills, what in
tarnation are y’all writin’ ‘bout NOW?<br />
…pay attention girl, there may be questions after.<br />
…and for you folks outside the immediate family, you might learn somethin’ important
by areadin’ this stuff<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The family dinner might include cod cheeks, pizza,
cornbread, snag done on the barbee, red salmon, whisky grilled baby back ribs
and golabki (pronounced go wompki) and Fosters, Canadian and Budweiser might be
served there with some Vodka slime and Angry Orchard Hard Cider for those that
don’t want beer and ginger ale, Dew or Coke for those that have long drives
ahead of them or the young’uns. You might need more than one bathroom for all
of these folks, too, in case they need to go on a mission.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let me introduce them to you, or at least some of them since
some are also underage and don’t get us older folks in our family. We exist
online in a game we all play within our alliance aka alli. I never use real
names in stories so the head of the family happens to be from Australia so she is
MissAussie (New South Wales, Australia) and she is more like group moderator
and works with our unwritten doctrine that we are all equal really.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then there is MrInAlaska (lives in Alaska, USA),
MissBCneeNewfie (formerly from Newfoundland and now resides in British
Columbia, Canada), MrBCneeMaritimer (formerly from Nova Scotia and now resides
in British Columbia, Canada), MissBama (lives in Alabama, USA) and me, MrCanook
(lives in Ontario, Canada).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each of us, at any given time, has wondered if one of the
family members might have had too much to drink. You see it all revolves around
what families really do best and that is have fun around the dinner table. And
it all became very clear when one of the members sort of started asking if one
of the others was OK and then the first one got on private chat and asked if
everything was alright with me. You see some of us joined from another game and
were in another family where one member was an aunt (oh did I spell that wrong
again) and the leader we did not much care for the way she ran the household.
So we moved out eventually in search of a new family.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So those folks kind of knew me a little differently and the
way I was acting in the new family would surely make you think I WAS drunk.
Well it is mostly MissBama’s fault (just kidding, I love to kid her) since we
became friends really quite recently and we like to joke around and talk like
hicks sometimes and also talk like Ricky and Lucy Ricardo and she is Ricky and
I am Lucy. So you have more reason to think that we are drunk. You see I don’t
spell out words fully anymore and sometimes used hick language so it does look
like I am goofy drunk (I don’t understand what you are saying to me might be
written “I doen unnerstan what y’all r sayin’ to me”). Simply put I was a lot
more conservative and boring before and my approach to fun was more reserved.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You see it is hard to judge that state (are you drunk) in a
person in our alliance chat window where we go loose on one another. If you
happen to walk into the middle of the conversation, well you might think they
are all drunk. The simple truth is we are all kind of high on life right now
and we are having so much fun that we act like drunkards at times. And we are a
tight family as MissBama kind of summed up when MissAussie asked about what she
thought of us moving to another location in the game. She simply responded with
“I go w/mfamly”. (I will go with my family for you dumbazzes that don’t
understand southern charm).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So the family is evolving and learning (alarnin’) more about
each other each day and we are not perfect. I have 3 pairs of varying degrees
of invisible waders that I wear on occasions when I step into various depths of
piles of warm, stinky, sticky stuff that I get into trouble on purpose to add
to the fun. The last pair is a full body suit made out of Kevlar, carbon fiber
and ballistic nylon and I do have fun when I am wearing those.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So we are all good and nobody is going to be taken away by
the folks wearing white suits but what is really nice about this family is that
folks are concerned enough to think you might need help.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And if you are thinking of joining our family well you
better not be anal or tight down in that region (no true Scotsmen need apply) and if you can’t take a joke
well you are definitely in the wrong room. We are not a powerful family in the
sense of the game itself yet (war game on the ocean) but we are truly powerful
where it really matters and that is in the heart. We have lots of that to go
around and when you are happy, happy, happy most of the time well it would
certainly appear that these folks are all drunk.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And we have one drunk uncle in our family that will drink to
just about anything and maybe that is why he has to ask are you folks drunk
because he can’t see the trees for the forest sometimes but we all love him and
pick on him as much as we can. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>…he’s just a big ol’
teddy bar<br />
…nobody here is acrazy, just a little loopy and proud of it!!!!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes it is hard to figure out who is talking because just
like any country family dinner, everyone is talking all at the same time
because they just get excited and want to share everything with everybody all
at the same time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>...so yeppers, we all
unnerstan why Y’all think we are drunk ‘cause I guess we are lmtfo (laugh my
tail feathers off)<br />
…we are all gonna’ be dead for a very long, long time so lighten up and have
some fun with friends<br />
…I do like Go Rest High on that Mountain by Vince Gill but I ain’t in no hurry
to have it sung to me in a room full of folks all dressed like Johnny Cash. I’ma
havin’ tooooo much fun!!!!<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>…and MissBama does not
say tarnation but gollybills, she does use gollybills more often than not.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-10995149790983849132014-10-08T12:16:00.001-04:002014-10-08T12:16:53.099-04:00Dumbazz History 101<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhua92-G1o32ryyqAzgzNq4YXLtnlGFLW0vuOAn0BOsGn7R-IQs5_F4qHR53PJhyphenhyphenb8Ct-X3yHs2Zb-9eWuAhqzEEm0ZTa2DNEWid_RtWRHGgwRBcGjw_S_1ssxwanxVQN4wrTUJT4JTaNI/s1600/Train+your+wife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhua92-G1o32ryyqAzgzNq4YXLtnlGFLW0vuOAn0BOsGn7R-IQs5_F4qHR53PJhyphenhyphenb8Ct-X3yHs2Zb-9eWuAhqzEEm0ZTa2DNEWid_RtWRHGgwRBcGjw_S_1ssxwanxVQN4wrTUJT4JTaNI/s1600/Train+your+wife.jpg" height="400" width="282" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This had to be a marketing ploy by a bunch of divorce
lawyers at a convention hiding from their wives (or more likely ex-wives) and drinking way too many “brown
pops”, but back in the day, there were lots of good old boys that truly
believed this philosophy. Thank goodness sanity prevailed, well at least by some. No I am not a woman
nor do I design clothes for them or not watch football and NASCAR and other
stuff the good old boys hold sacred but I believe I hold all people a lot more
sacred than these dumbazzes did.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I went to university but that didn’t really make me much
smarter other than being a good observer. I happened to have lived in a co-ed
residence where I gained great respect for the opposite sex since I did not
have any sisters in my family. And I quickly learned that you cannot “train”
any good woman to do your lazy-ass-bidding in even a gazillion lessons. What
you can do is create an environment of mutual respect and trust and get
rewarded in ways you never even imagined. I’m still single because I haven’t
figured that out real well yet but I think I am finally getting it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Let’s examine the “doctrine” these dumbazzes preached in the
flyers that surely existed in real life. Someone actually made these up and I
think later switched to other marketing ploys (since this failed miserably) with
flyers like that and they knock on your door and act all cheery and stuff and
try to force their own dumbazz doctrine on you. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The key is you do not force anyone to do anything in real
life. You get them to see your viewpoint through lots of discussion about their
viewpoint and then you find common ground and work from there. And there is
another keyword, work, since a dumbazz does not know how or like to do that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><b>Fetch your slippers and pipe.</b> Since he can’t or
doesn’t know how to train a dog how to do this, he thinks he can actually get a
human being to do that. The dog isn’t dumb either. Actually he is smarter than
these dumbazzes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><b>Massage your feet.</b> Might happen if you massage
hers after she has taken care of all the really hard things she does all day
long while you only “work” but maybe 3 hours a day at best. The rest of the
time you are telling “fishing” stories around the water cooler, mostly with
your other good old boys and telling more lies about “the little woman” that
you would never tell to her face.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> <b> </b></span></span><b>Serve you ice cold beer and snacks.</b> That is
another wish list item because, despite hours and hours of practice, you can’t
even get it right at the old boys watering hole since the waitresses all know
your game and know how to work you out of lots of that so-called hard earned
money you make at the good old boys workshop (where not much real work goes
on).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><b>Sit quietly while you browse your favorite television
stations.</b> Actually she is sleeping mostly during those boring shows and watches
important stuff without you because you can’t understand what is going on
because the meaning is too difficult for your dumbazz mind. (Notice favorite is not written with a u, so no Canadian wrote that flyer and I can breathe a sigh of relief on that one. I think Canada has a lower rate of dumbazzes than most other countries in the world)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><b>Respond to non-verbal cues, such as the snapping
of fingers.</b> This one is actually true and will work just fine, but not for the
dumbazz. You will see her response all right, in the form of all manner of
projectiles thrown by an arm with more control than Sandy Koufax and you will
learn new blue words you never heard in the good old boys locker room. Heaven
help you if she is packing anything sold that has to be kept under lock and
key.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><b>Answer “Yes, dear” to any and all requests.</b> She WILL
use two words but that is not them, well she will at least start with those two
and if you are smart you will learn how to use thank you in every sentence you
say to her, if you are truly smart (to get the attention of a dumbazz, try
repeating what you said, often, if you are truly smart).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><b>Greet you at the door wearing nothing but
cellophane wrap</b> (see flyer at top for their spelling). See it is a dumbazz writing this, since everyone else knows
you spell that word with two l’s (ells, in case the dumbazzes can’t figure out
that is not number one cause they can’t count higher than that or see that they
are not number one).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You know they must have had mind-altering drugs back in the
day in beer in the 50’s when this kind of flyer came out of Dumbazz Publishing
House. There really can be no other explanation. And thankfully, some of us
didn’t prescribe to Dumbazz Doctorial Teaching 101. But what I still wrestle
with is how truly smart women spend ANY time with graduates of the old boys’
school. I have to be missing something in the equation but I am not going to
hurt my head trying to figure it out.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Instead I will still try to find a woman (actually I think
they find you) who wants a loyal and trusting partner that will give her the
attention and caring she so truly wants but first I would have to displace that
type of woman’s pet dog since they already do all of that without all the “bullshit”
attached to the old boys’ dumbazz doctrine. There is a lot less to clean up
after with just a dog. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think the trick is to actually talk to each other about
all the important things in life and come to a mutually agreed upon compromise on what is truly important. If you think being a couch potato that gets served
at your bidding is a good way to go, well you will eventually just be a very
big and fat piece of something that will just be good for nothing but flower
food. That’s not a very rewarding way to go out. Try communicating with the
meaningful other half of your relationship and you just might figure it out
before they sing “Go Rest High on that Mountain” to you. Life is short and gets
better if you learn how to share it properly with others.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-49063125506439161832014-10-05T18:21:00.000-04:002014-10-05T18:21:54.614-04:00Comparing Alaska, Australia and the Continental USA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KExLSR34L30TAIk6HRtKQ3bVMlAec9hYHk76U90R_riBgsw76fMKFMMXPJQ2uLsIFWCQOZD7ls3SwKnzu-zuq1-YkF_m_qDk7YgiHCBpappaT0RuDmjUIosBwWcQ_zguWy6WSGGruIA/s1600/ausvsus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1KExLSR34L30TAIk6HRtKQ3bVMlAec9hYHk76U90R_riBgsw76fMKFMMXPJQ2uLsIFWCQOZD7ls3SwKnzu-zuq1-YkF_m_qDk7YgiHCBpappaT0RuDmjUIosBwWcQ_zguWy6WSGGruIA/s1600/ausvsus.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What triggered this story for me was the fact that I am
currently playing in an online game with people that reside in these
geographical locations and I happen to live in Canada. I certainly did not know
that much about the relative geographical numbers but was equally amazed that
neither did the other players in our “family”. So, as per usual, I start to
google like crazy and get the research going on these because it peaks my curiosity
and I always learn some really interesting “water cooler” conversation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The continental USA is sometimes referred to as the lower 48
and thus does not include Alaska and Hawaii in that grouping. Turns out that
Australia will just fit inside that region if you could actually do that.
Alaska is roughly 1/5<sup>th</sup> the size of either of those land masses
(which totally surprised me, I thought it was smaller). And Alaska actually has a larger coastline
than the entire lower 48. Canada is about 25% larger than Australia or the
lower 48. Populations (2013) are .735M (Alaska), 315 M (lower 48), 23M
(Australia) and 35M (Canada). Try comparing Great Britain in size to the lower
48 if you want a big surprise.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtv0obd1qnLGrSf5TCECPub1EHKJV_a7r23BV6rOv3sT6vhOT0csIAXbX-cO6bYBKQUuC2ox7WdE7zOVdk3Z18_nkd1fX9XZU9j-Kp8Nz4iIvD_k0JEc9q4XmtbTZJ6ivIhNFvrWLdcw/s1600/AKoverUS.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYtv0obd1qnLGrSf5TCECPub1EHKJV_a7r23BV6rOv3sT6vhOT0csIAXbX-cO6bYBKQUuC2ox7WdE7zOVdk3Z18_nkd1fX9XZU9j-Kp8Nz4iIvD_k0JEc9q4XmtbTZJ6ivIhNFvrWLdcw/s1600/AKoverUS.JPG" height="220" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And we were sharing current weather forecasts for the day in
each of our countries. One of the other players lives in Alabama, one in
Alaska, one in New South Wales, Australia and me in Ontario, Canada. It happens
to be early in October and 81, 40, 81, and 63 are going to be the highs for the
next day, Monday. It is of course early fall for the three North American
locations and early spring for the Australian location. And each country has
the pattern of 4 seasons but they are less extreme in Alabama and NSW but these
two have much hotter summers, for example.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But what is more important in all of this, is our passion
for having fun in our new “family” and even if we could hear all the different
accents and fully understand the cultural differences, none of this really
mattered much, other than having fun. The Internet is bringing people all over
the world much closer to each other and if we focused more on having fun with
each other than slamming all of our differences in tabloid and paparazzi or
shock value photos, well the world would indeed be a better place. It is very
hard to battle with people you really like. Eventually, you become even closer
friends as one pair of folks has done so in the “game” after one was pummelling
the other constantly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I actually had a tough time finding the right spelling for paparazzi.
Even googling “assholes who take pictures of celebrities in private conditions”
didn’t work but I guess google just does not like to deal with brutal honesty. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I just call them as I see them and would like to take
pictures of them and post them to tabloid media just to show them what it is
like. I guess you can’t see much when your head is stuck inside where the son
doesn’t shine. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think the laws need to change there much like threatening
someone with a loaded gun since they both do a lot of damage if uncontrolled in
the hands of a dumbazz. The camera or gun is not capable of harm until that
character puts his/her hands on it, so camera or gun control is not the answer
but dumbazzes in government don’t get it. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apparently, they have the same viewing point as the
paparazzi and must not have any sense of smell either.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Anyone for Dumbazz Control?? Not likely to happen because that is called self-control and the paparazzi and government seem to think they are beyond that.</div>
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Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-73034666769729540512014-10-01T15:50:00.004-04:002014-10-01T15:50:52.555-04:00Quantifying Someone Else’s Personality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozFka4A3j9KODPzz45kMUH7tcpsGEWjpyahuOBM6zY6ROT711JzSWV5AhrBbipxOnFeLH_BD920KxA4fdLt0iWmn67YbpBgZZ2mpDdyJFlkQyZxhXLzyWOskXidv0Id6iUCp-2pWMjj8/s1600/4PersonalityTypes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjozFka4A3j9KODPzz45kMUH7tcpsGEWjpyahuOBM6zY6ROT711JzSWV5AhrBbipxOnFeLH_BD920KxA4fdLt0iWmn67YbpBgZZ2mpDdyJFlkQyZxhXLzyWOskXidv0Id6iUCp-2pWMjj8/s1600/4PersonalityTypes.jpg" height="308" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
Some would argue that you can’t put a number to a
personality but I am attempting to show here a way to “measure” someone else’s
personality traits within the context of how you perceive them using your own
values as a reference. It is also intended to allow for the fact that these
traits are dynamic in nature and will change over time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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All the studies I took
on the subject, in the past, always seem to try to put them into a fixed box
and I had a great deal of difficulty accepting that notion especially when I
put it in reference to friends who seem to demonstrate a tendency to have
shifts in the traits from one time or another and, being male, noticed that to
be even more prevalent on how the opposite sex reacted to me with pretty much
the same conditions in place on my side.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And when I look at the image at the top I find I fit into all boxes now quite a lot and maybe that is a sign that as you get older you can develop a more well-rounded personality and jump in and out of it as the situation dictates. Some days I find myself more one type than the other and the same is true about the time of day.</div>
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<br /></div>
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So I suggest the scale depicted here in the coloured bars
denoting two personality traits with how comfortable or uncomfortable I happen
to be with those in the other person. The first one shows that I am extremely
comfortable with number 1 but quite uncomfortable with number 2. And since I
don’t like the concept of a fixed position or box, they are relative to mine
and have many degrees or levels of intensity much like a gradient scale has.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So Number 1 could be Cooperative/Uncooperative and Number 2
could be Respectful/Disrespectful in the measure below. I am extremely
comfortable with the first (very cooperative) and not so with how they show
respect for others (quite disrespectful). So you would have to decide how
important each trait is and perhaps put them into a hierarchy as well either
mentally or even hard-copy versions for business use.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXMJKOV3xIvvqhNSibZZ6juEdeqp1vx42rW4bMC4ECawZBur0QKl9WsXrCm48XnfiwC8g4TNjTC-ED4QMtLaweHKYGEq1XmLVwqbEd0iHzWCdA-WyIPUHC8Sq6dDy2twwQC5rZao97gI/s1600/Comfortable+Uncomfortable+Scale+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXMJKOV3xIvvqhNSibZZ6juEdeqp1vx42rW4bMC4ECawZBur0QKl9WsXrCm48XnfiwC8g4TNjTC-ED4QMtLaweHKYGEq1XmLVwqbEd0iHzWCdA-WyIPUHC8Sq6dDy2twwQC5rZao97gI/s1600/Comfortable+Uncomfortable+Scale+copy.jpg" height="112" width="400" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<!--[endif]-->Now some are saying why would you do this
and what purpose does it serve. Well the Internet has seemed to spawn a number
of problems in communicating with others, in that it is quite sterile in how it
deals with human contact. You do not sense the same things in a conversation
with others in a chat window like you would face-to-face. You certainly can’t
get their body language (without video help), voice inflections and accents
would be mostly muted or difficult to convey and their mood is very hard to
discern as well. ALL CAPS could be seen as anger, shouting, even rude and can be seen as being very happy if mixed like in the phrase "you are wonderful TYVM".<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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So
you might be involved in a group discussion from many countries (and business
is now facing this since so many are worldwide now) and want to assess someone
as a new member of that group and try to find a number of desirable traits all
of you want to have in that candidate. This measuring scale, depicted above,
can help set reference points for the parties to share and come to agreement on
where they see the “candidate” fitting on each trait. So a sales manager in
Quebec, Canada, might be able to get an understanding going with the Marketing
Department in Atlanta, Georgia, USA on how an effective advertising program
would work in that part of Canada using the personality scales to help drive
home the point. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The
reason a lot of US-based operations (and for that matter the rest of Canada) fail so badly in the province of Quebec is they fail to understand the
significant differences in personality between the two and a lot of hard work
goes all for naught. They try to force their own approach on one that does not
accept it the same way and it ends up being much like the “Talk louder and
slower” approach to speaking to a “foreigner” that some Americans use abroad.
It just doesn’t work and ends up leaving a sour taste in the “foreigners” mouth
and they grow to dislike each other instead of trying to work out their
communication and personality differences. I had lots of personal hands-on
exposure to this in action and it is a reality and I am sure is not just
restricted to that locale. Add other languages into the mix, religion and lots
more miles and it gets even more complex and the Internet largely ignores these
important differences.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Understanding
others is sort of a passion with me and I take great pride in getting better
and better at it. I have been told that I should work as a diplomat because of
how I approach others initially in a potentially contentious environment but
the truth is, if you tick me off long enough, you get both barrels backed by an
uzi, bazooka or tank depending on how inflexible the other person gets. A dynamic personality can jump from one end of the scale to another in a short period of time if the right conditions appear and can help explain why someone who was calm and very cooperative switches very quickly in a short period of time. Simply stated, someone just really "pissed them off" in a big way and so you get the brunt of your actions back at you. That is honesty/dishonesty in action and can even go hard left off the scale which some see as going overboard but it can also be perceived as "straight-shooting". <o:p></o:p></div>
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Sometimes
agreeing to disagree and walking away is the best way to deal with these
situations and using that personality trait measuring system helps tell you how
far apart each of you are from one another. You can either let the sleeping
dogs lie or undo the leashes and let them go frolic in the fields and have a
party. I like the second one a lot more, thank you.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-67675644987425659102014-09-28T13:06:00.000-04:002014-09-29T00:15:18.039-04:00How I am Learning a New Language<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDrOqIEkjXC6Del0PilSmT6GgAvJG5eePZl05hGIDFeXv1hM4lqtMIsx3KDsVYJZwQmeGOK9YAsuc62BW0PwjTVwxBbo7Y7G0mpoYcfd2TWwt_LLWu6NcbH02mYunqkFRJ-rOmc6LCPc/s1600/MiniaturePInscherMyliePuppy11WeeksOld.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJDrOqIEkjXC6Del0PilSmT6GgAvJG5eePZl05hGIDFeXv1hM4lqtMIsx3KDsVYJZwQmeGOK9YAsuc62BW0PwjTVwxBbo7Y7G0mpoYcfd2TWwt_LLWu6NcbH02mYunqkFRJ-rOmc6LCPc/s1600/MiniaturePInscherMyliePuppy11WeeksOld.jpg" height="320" width="246" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Actually it would sound more like <i>How-I’mah LARN-nin a-newLANG-widge. </i>It is in fact English but the
one that comes out of the mouths of folks living in the Deep South or, as
another friend calls it, ‘Merica. And please note that I am not talking down to
the manner in which they speak, I am merely pointing out how very different it
sounds to me since I grew up in the greater Toronto area of Ontario in Canada.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I met my friend who lives in Alabama and has roots in
Louisiana, as well, on the Internet playing an online game and it evolved into
online chat sessions that soon also included quite extensive long distance
conversations with her. I quickly realized something I never really thought of before
as to how chat room sessions leave out a very important part of the message and
that is the flair of the local culture of the person on the other side of the somewhat
sterilized verbal banter you do in those windows. Simply stated, most everyone
sounds the same to you as the way you speak.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But nothing could be further from the truth as the first
telephone conversation made so clear because it was not at all clear to me. It
wasn’t because of any electronic interference or line noise because in today’s
world that is pretty much non-existent. You can actually hear the pregnant
pauses in a telephone conversation which are sometimes just the precursor to a
dead connection, so I have found out. Unlimited long distance plans coupled
with redial make that not much of problem.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The lack of clarity (as I now realize) had more to do with
the fact that it was much later in the day and anyone can be drowsy or very
relaxed that their local dialect becomes even stronger and so the difference
between my dialect and hers becomes even greater. So there we were me talking
in what she described as “it was like I was back in school in English class
again with that perfect English the teacher wanted us to use”. (I am not even
gonna attempt the drawl at this point). And I pretty much didn’t understand
much of anything that she was saying but I am thankful we persevered.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So I now have a much greater appreciation for something I
kept hearing growing up in a largely Italian district of Toronto with me not
being of that descent (my parents both arrived in Canada at a very young age from
their native Poland in very separate ways). The comment was that northern and
southern Italians really have a tough time understanding each other because the
dialects are so different and that can even be said of others in the next
valley or region. Not any different than Canada to Alabama as sure as this dumb
boot found out. (Yah I know I’m not a dumb boot or dumb azz but I sure felt
like one for a while).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And from it I learned some “local” words that quite frankly
were not ones that I had ever heard before and specifically: gollybills and
poot. I thought min pin was another but that was just me and not really a
southern phrase which I will explain a little later. Gollybills is a term that
is really more of an Old South term that you would start a sentence with way
back in the day sort of like “Gollybills, it sure is hot enough out thar today
to fry an egg on the old tin roof”. It could be a little like gee whiz, shucks
or even shoot.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Now the definition of poot was one that still makes me laugh
so hard that I snort at the end of it to catch my breath. (I can’t ever
remember doing that before but maybe that is just more southern stuff rubbing
off on me). I thought she was saying toot (like toot your horn) because we were
talking about a term that a gal in the south might use in reference to
expelling excessive bodily gas in a polite and controlled manner. So try to
follow this one as she starts to explain it:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>…NO ?OOT<br />
…?AYYYY, OHHHH, OHHHHH, TAYYYYYY<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The reason for the question mark is no matter how she tried
to simplify it the drawl still masked the “P” sound (for me) until she used
something like “PAAAY as in Peter” (and no she does not sound like that really.
I just use this for exaggeration). I honestly had never heard of the word until
I googled it and found some descriptions in the urban dictionary via google and
confirmed that this was indeed the word she meant. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think the explanation approach she used is something that
is truly much more American in nature, that when one of them has trouble
speaking to someone else who does not speak their version of English (‘Merican),
they talk both louder and slower as if that is going to correct the
communication problem. I first saw that in action in a ski trip to Italy, back
in the day, and just kind of scratched my head on that one. I did speak a
little Italian (due to my neighbourhood and one year of study) and so I sort of
acted like a bad interpreter and I got big smiles from the local folks for trying
my best to talk them in their language.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I mistakenly misunderstood min pin as a southern phrase but
it is, in fact, a term for the breed of dog that she owns and so lovingly cares
for—aka miniature pinscher. I got introduced to a very insightful website on
dogs via googling “miniature pinscher”. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/miniaturepinscher.htm">http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/miniaturepinscher.htm</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>If it truly has rules,
boundaries, limitations, a true <a href="http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/topdogrules.htm">pack leader</a> and a <a href="http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/articles/dogwalk.htm">daily pack walk</a>, it
will be a wonderful family companion.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I plan to read through that website in greater detail to
understand my friend’s other dialect and that is related to canine obedience
training which she is now pursuing as a career. And so I think I will try to
write a few stories relating to dog behaviour and training because it is clear
to me that bad dog behaviour is pretty much the result of a bad owner and not a
bad dog.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The best thing about learning a new language is it is a lot
of fun and most definitely leads to a clearer understanding between two people
which is a pretty good thing if you like to talk as much as I do. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And the drawl will rub off on you much like when I went to
the local grocery store and greeted my favourite cashier on check out with “how-y’all-doin-taday”
and she looks at me with a smile and says “You’ve been talking to your friend
in Alabama haven’t you?”. And I smile back and just say “Yes, mam” and we both
kind of laugh and wish each other a genuine “Have a nice day” or “You too”. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It all really just contributes to making the world a little
better place and we can all use a lot more of that, for sure.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-42289097112054051912014-09-26T12:45:00.000-04:002014-09-26T12:45:42.398-04:00A Hurricane is like the Human Psyche<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgtOyUmf49-ytzV8HXoMk0DaJhuJqA4DybS6sKUNI7ZXbFnw_ybtKT8eXOzt0oZVy92n0Z5DrRCyolpfqFvDOvRmSOHPcptlSEf_ITBTm_TyWRywK-xTxEXShKN3fTufbBB5AEeTi85Y/s1600/Katrina+eye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgtOyUmf49-ytzV8HXoMk0DaJhuJqA4DybS6sKUNI7ZXbFnw_ybtKT8eXOzt0oZVy92n0Z5DrRCyolpfqFvDOvRmSOHPcptlSEf_ITBTm_TyWRywK-xTxEXShKN3fTufbBB5AEeTi85Y/s1600/Katrina+eye.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the eye of Katrina</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
You might even consider it to be more like the makeup of the
human soul than just the psyche. It happens to be that season in the Gulf of
Mexico and it seems that small hurricane sightings appear on an almost daily
basis in central Alabama, well at least for me. I have learned that a hurricane
has significantly more impact than just a simple breath of fresh air. It is
much more powerful and has the potential for great destruction if its force is
not dissipated before it comes into contact with land.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A hurricane builds up its strength mostly over water which
is much like the human psyche being deprived of meaningful exposure to others
that helps dissipate the built up energy (frustration and even anger in the
human version). If a hurricane does not find a way to dissipate its building
strength, it lashes out at whatever is in its unpredictable path of destruction.
Katrina is an example of just how devastating one can be even though it was
only a Force 3 version when it reached land. And so too can the human soul lash
out if proper attention is not paid to what nourishes it. Much like the
powerful force of nature, the human hurricane can be somewhat tamed by it
releasing its forces over water (the absence of a lot of people) if it comes
into contact with a calming force which a large mass of water can also be.
Travelling over a long distance can also have this same calming effect.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The human version of a hurricane responds much better to
suggestion than commands. In fact, a command is often a trigger for rebellion
and sends it in a much uncontrolled direction that catches the unwary very much
off-guard. And if the human version meets up with another hurricane, the
combined forces can result in more than the sum of the two parts, especially if
the second hurricane is also fraught with frustration and anger. Beware the
land mass (a large group of people) that lies in their wake.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One curious thing that I noticed about the aftermath of the
forces of a dissipating hurricane was far removed from the start of a major one
(maybe Katrina or Ike) while working at a golf course in southern Ontario. As a
hurricane releases its might across land, it leaves an area of bright sunshine,
virtually no wind, fresh air, comfortable temperatures and generally a massive high
pressure zone (similar to the eye of the storm with the exception of the high
pressure since the eye is actually very low pressure). In fact, if you look at
a radar map you are hard pressed to find anything but a huge high pressure zone
left in the wake of the storm (a natural high). You might even call it heavenly
or blissful and it lasts for several days. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_gtw6X_1VRy3ljbZyVSshg1t5ronKQLHDr0GtcgFCqOjzdFL0HPHgmiD81gnj9bxnqPgg_XqnQ9_ADq7OYDgWct2D9jD3kLVLZCDOkZNQC8oLRmUPc-h-zaDxTf-eB4pCiH59s_0pkQ/s1600/imagination+album+cover.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7_gtw6X_1VRy3ljbZyVSshg1t5ronKQLHDr0GtcgFCqOjzdFL0HPHgmiD81gnj9bxnqPgg_XqnQ9_ADq7OYDgWct2D9jD3kLVLZCDOkZNQC8oLRmUPc-h-zaDxTf-eB4pCiH59s_0pkQ/s1600/imagination+album+cover.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I am reminded of a song by my all-time favourite female
singer with her group, Gladys Knight & The Pips from the Imagination album
which was easily one of my favourite albums of all-time as well. The song was
simply called Storms of Troubled Times and talks very well to how one human
being can support another. “…take my umbrella; it will shelter you from the
rain…”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WxrTgqLd8E">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WxrTgqLd8E</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>…Gladys you just sing your heart out, girl<br />
…I had the good fortune of seeing her perform live and every song started out
with goose bumps running up and down my neck, head and back<br />
…she sang from her toes!!!</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEwE1R5Fhco">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEwE1R5Fhco</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This happens to be a 46 minute video of a 1977 concert of
them performing in Los Angeles and, despite the poor quality of the day and the
sometimes too-fast stage production tempo; it captures them in all their glory.
“The Way We Were” seems to capture Gladys releasing her very own hurricane (on
her 4<sup>th</sup> marriage) in a beautifully controlled manner. The Ray
Charles/Gladys Knight duos are worth it all alone. (I see Jamie Foxx in my mind
every time I see or hear Ray sing. Jamie did one amazing job of capturing the
hurricane in Ray in the great movie simply entitled “Ray” resulting in him getting
an Academy Award for Best Actor)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwR5cUM5c_wsJ8DNBltpRDjAqG3yQcKyEeul01SWKVzGejrNUiGDwBt2QU2dA6ehepCz3wb5vqVFjaOM5NUOr_o3TBCvDnZgaJRKLcOTobx-hY-lmlr4cTvZFMwucdrftxKAtPWEZUmCs/s1600/Ray_poster+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwR5cUM5c_wsJ8DNBltpRDjAqG3yQcKyEeul01SWKVzGejrNUiGDwBt2QU2dA6ehepCz3wb5vqVFjaOM5NUOr_o3TBCvDnZgaJRKLcOTobx-hY-lmlr4cTvZFMwucdrftxKAtPWEZUmCs/s1600/Ray_poster+2.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
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<i>…to Berry Gordy, you chose the wrong diva in my opinion.</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-12616353790150356032014-09-03T17:24:00.001-04:002014-09-03T17:26:19.270-04:00Creating Music in an Apartment<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcOkP_KM7vwlhOADyFNrujS8Tm45P-kwbavEIEsKPjkggMoMVzWFfJC_uUH862JBmqRfoHjCBr8fNP-AYu2oTDkr-kW5OfaA1ZPR1UN5nmKg5_r69QIMv8yZjRZrplJ7mAIBlvLwBgfE/s1600/capturing+the+true+sound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxcOkP_KM7vwlhOADyFNrujS8Tm45P-kwbavEIEsKPjkggMoMVzWFfJC_uUH862JBmqRfoHjCBr8fNP-AYu2oTDkr-kW5OfaA1ZPR1UN5nmKg5_r69QIMv8yZjRZrplJ7mAIBlvLwBgfE/s1600/capturing+the+true+sound.jpg" height="227" width="400" /></a></div>
I am an old school musician and pretty much prefer the realistic sounds of my youth like the power of the Hammond B3 organ and the sound that only a Steinway piano has like the one in used by Native Instruments to create the so realistic digital versions that they do so well (so well that Steinway does not let them use their name, it seems, since it could possibly cut into sales of that fine instrument).<br />
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Living in an apartment pretty much means that one cannot find the space to even begin to set up the equipment and secondly no neighbour would put up with the sound for very long, no matter how good one's chops might be (and mine are so-so). And even just one is more space than one has so having a multitude of these vintage and classic instruments available to play or practice whenever one likes is just amazing and one of the niceties of today's technology.<br />
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Add to it the ability to hear them through wonderful sounding and comfortable headphones (Bose are my choice always now) is just another amazing feature of the modern electronic music world. I still play a conventional electric guitar since modern technology can only go so far in recreating that fine instrument. The problem is that the only real interface would be just another guitar so why try and reinvent the wheel here.<br />
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The keyboards are another thing since they can recreate the feel of the keys on a controller board and then it is up to the technical wizards to sample the death out of a real instrument to get that sound. It is impossible to get the spacial warmth of playing a piano in just an apartment but when you use the tools available in Native Instruments various collections, well you just can't do much better than that really in such a small physical space like a 1-bedroom apartment.<br />
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Now if I can only get past the part of trying to be my own recording engineer, I might actually get some of the stuff I have written recorded since that is all there thanks to Cubase Artist but it is still too much like work yet since it is pretty much the same thing used in the professional studios.<br />
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Meanwhile, I have a grand old time just practicing and seeing how the higher quality sound also makes you become a better player at the same time because now you hear the subtle differences that a top quality instrument can bring out in the player and, might I add, at a fraction of the cost of the real thing. My hat is off to the folks at Native Instruments. You continue to outdo yourself in the field of vintage instruments and for others that want even more with new creations that digital can provide, they have those too.Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210826641490836795.post-2495255627001328912014-08-26T17:33:00.000-04:002014-08-26T17:33:44.321-04:00Our School System is Failing Today’s Children<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-n1-WfKiQj4JX3erbj1MlCjlRHilaXmG0QbOugIuQduzfZSpyYErqppaeswhyphenhyphenNPlzE4yDfjSo26i3jUrDNAqTDb0MZhg299yldl4G_Ew1PHH64TujgXVWEO602x802dkjs-bgqzQNrQ/s1600/Not+a+basketball+hoop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ-n1-WfKiQj4JX3erbj1MlCjlRHilaXmG0QbOugIuQduzfZSpyYErqppaeswhyphenhyphenNPlzE4yDfjSo26i3jUrDNAqTDb0MZhg299yldl4G_Ew1PHH64TujgXVWEO602x802dkjs-bgqzQNrQ/s1600/Not+a+basketball+hoop.jpg" height="320" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No basketball hoops in sight</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The playground apparatus here is just a symbol of how the
system has diluted the need for individuals to excel and come out on top of the
heap. I think the idea of this toy is to not have them play a competitive game
with a possible winner and a possible loser. If a ball goes in over the top it
will come out of one of those 3 holes and I guess is supposed to support
sharing.</div>
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Well the reality in life is that there are winners and
losers in everything and sharing is a choice thing and should not be mandatory.
We used to play pickup road hockey for hours and the score would be like 125 –
122 when we had to go home for supper and no one cared. We decided how to
change the teams up to make it a little fairer and thus we learned how to
negotiate on that playing field and no one got upset.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The teaching profession that wants to homogenize the system
in such a manner that the cream does not rise to the top is failing the entire
future of our culture. But not to worry, those that have the penchant to excel
will find a way once they get away from this neutralizing method of teaching.
Sadly, the ones that lose out are the average and above average that can learn
how to do better with proper coaching. Those that don’t try will always fail
and it seems that is OK by these new standards. Those that don’t try still pass
today but that teaches them nothing useful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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All I can say is thank you to all my teachers that pushed me
to do better because you were right to do that. I hope the Mr. and Mrs.
Milktoasts of today’s teaching profession retire soon and make way for a new
breed of “Get It Done Better” and “Seek to Excel” because that is doing the
student justice.<o:p></o:p></div>
Bozoplay aka Bozohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13849240907291158947noreply@blogger.com0