Endless Thoughts

This picture is found in the Katrina Damage gallery on CNN.

Despite the tragedy, I just love this picture. The spoon on the right corner, the clock on the wall, and the rest so still while the roof was just poofed! and the view of the darkening clouds from the indoor.

(Jeffy & XfF, the spoon and the clock are still hanging on the wall. How they remain there may be the same way how the tarp remain outside. If you wonder what I'm talking about, click here and read the comments after viewing the pictures.)

The 190-metre high, 54-floor Turning Torso
apartment tower in Malmo, Sweden
Sweden's Twisting Tower

Isn't that cool? At the high level, it looks like the windows are not vertical but about at the angle of 60 degree, more or less. Or are my eyes being tricked?

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Saw on TV news this evening... Some town in Ontario made fun of the gas prices and instead of numbers indicating costs, an owner of the gas station actually put up a picture of an arm beside 'unleaded gas' and a picture of a leg beside 'superior' gas.

Who Put Butter in Butterfly? by David Feldman

Why Can Some People Get Your Goat Instead of Getting your Mynah Bird or Getting your Basset Hound?

Although there is some dispute about how this colorful term for the uncanny ability of some people to rile us, annoy us, irritate us, vex us, and get under our skin, most lexicographers attribute the origins get your goat to the world of thoroughbred horse racing. Horse trainers have long put a companion in stalls with high-strung thoroughbreds, particularly voliate stallions.

Putting a horse of the same sex in the stall would lead to territorial battles; putting a horse of the opposite sex in the stall might, to put it politely, distract the stallion from the task at hand. Goats, among the most boring and least demanding of animals, soothed horses effectively.

Horses tended to become attached to their goat roommates, so much so that rival barns sometimes would steal the goat of a rival the night before a race. The horse would become upset and presumably underperform the next day. So someone whose goat has been gotten is actually being compared to a horse rather than a goat.

(I need to get a goat for my itchness ;) )

Why Do We Say Let the Cat Out of the Bag Rather Than Let the Gerbil Out of the Bag?

Gerbil won't work because this expression is not metaphorical. In medieval times, pigs were sold live at fairs and open markets. Pigs aren't exactly docile, and they don't cotton to standing still in stalls while shoppers eye their potential as bacon.

Without room to house the pigs in pens, the only practical solution was for the sellers to tie up the pigs in burlap sacks. The customers couldn't see what they were buying, and a gullible buyer-- the type that today would see a three-card monte game in Times Square as an opportunity to enhance his financial security -- might end up buying a cat rather than a pig. When the buyer finally opened his bag, the truth was revealed.

The theory that some buyers were actually fooled is bolstered by another cliche, a pig in a poke. A poke is Middle English for "sack" or "bag". This expression implies a blind guess, one that is as likely to turn "catty" as "porcine".

Again from the same book: Who Puts The Butter in the Butterfly? by David Feldman

Why is an Outdoor Bazaar Called A Flea Market?

The first flea market was held in Paris, but the concept spread throughout Western Europe. Originally, to be a flea market, the sale had to be outdoors and the goods secondhand. The assumption was the old merchandise would gather fleas as well as customers.

(so fleas r attracted to old stuff?)

Why is the Last Performance or Work of an Artist Called a Swan Song?

Just about every author they have Cliff Notes for in Classics classes seems to have written about swan songs. Plato, Aristotle, Chaucer, Coleridge, Spenser, Shakespeare, and other, less stellar writers have referred to the legend of the dying swan. Although actual swans never sing, they were once believed to sing a beautiful melody just before they died. Socrates attributed the song to a display of happiness at its impending reunion with the god it served. Other ancient myths included that swans accompanied the dead to their final resting place (sort of a reverse stork) and that the souls of dead humans reside in swans.

(interesting!)

Last week, my Dad was telling me about the gas price since we've heard of the news about the increasing cost per litre. It didn't happen in our hometown at the moment Dad was telling me a few things about gas. One of the things he said, "The sign has no room for another digit." It's always been three digits with a decimal before the last number. Say 92.7 which would mean 92 cents point 7. Now that the skyrocketed price has went beyond a dollar per litre.

When I was driving up to Listowel, I saw how the towns came up with the over-a-dollar per litre cost on the sign. They would just take the first 9 off and put zero in it. Say it's 04.2, it would mean a dollar and four cents point 2 per litre. When I drove by Atwood, a town before Listowel, I saw the price on the sign that went '98.5'. It used to be the one I avoided pulling over to fill in, but now it is the price I would be thrilled to find.

I checked in the newspaper and thought this comic was hilarious. I wish I have it scanned, but I can explain what it was. You know neighbours would go next door to ask for a cup of sugar when they are out of sugar. This comic, it shows a neighbour bringing a cup to the next door and asked, "Can I have a cup of gas please? I need to buy sugar." Though he could ask just for sugar, but it is the gas price that drives the neighbour pleading for gas more than sugar from the next door.

Today, I sat outside in the open garage with Tanner and Dad. We watched people, bikers and cars go by. Dad was telling me old tales as usual starting how he never thought of living in this house when he was fourteen attending high school (which is located in front of this house). He remembers this house from his memories when he was fourteen. That was hmm, FIFTY-THREE years ago. Holy, I didn't think of that til now. Anyway, he mentioned about how the price on the sign for gas used to be the cost per gallon. It was like 3 dollars per gallon... but then the cost raised up to the point where they had to base the price per litre instead of gallon. Dad wondered if the price would skyrocket up to the point when the cost on the sign would then be based on per cup. Heh :) That's when I told him about the comic and he laughed.

How far will the price go up? I wonder.

Should African Animals Be Relocated to the US?

Is this idea brilliant, insane, or both?

Scientists believe these animals would be saved from extinction if relocation takes place. Some believe these animals would affect other animals that have been residing in the U.S., such as calves.

Saw this on the news... went looking for information online but information I found and read are not related to the news I saw last night.

Home Depot is talking about modifying its interior structure to appeal female customers. They are talking about lowering the shelves, adding brighter lights and widening the aisles.

I wouldn't have mentioned this if widening the aisles wasn't mentioned. Is it about women's hips or how women, despite their size, psychologically need more space? There are men with bigger shoulders than women's hips or men who prefer a lot of space, too. I wonder why or how differences in interior structure could affect genders?

I've decided to start making a habit sharing new tidbits that I learned from reading David Feldman's Who Put the Butter in Butterfly? So far, I've made two posts. One was about Dandelions and the most recent post was about Jeeps and a buck.

So now, this is the third post. I shall call this Tidbits #3

Why is the Middle of Summer Called the Dog Days?

No, dog days is not an invention of the greeting card industry to create a phony holiday for your canine pets. Nor is it an ironic reference to the fact that midsummer isn't exactly Bowser's favorite time of year.

Dog days goes back to the Romans, who believed that in the hottest part of the summer, Sirius (the "dog star" and the brighest star in its constelation) lent its own heat to the heat of the sun (sirius means "scorching" in Greek). The Roman dog days, which they called caniculares dies ("days of the dog"), lasted from approximately July 3 to August 11, when Sirius is ascending. Over time, dog days has come to mean any expected long streak of heat.

**now the name Sirius and his transformation in a black dog in Harry Potter makes sense :)

** Tomorrow, it will be August 11th.

Why is an Old Person Said to Be Long in the Tooth?

The first recorded use of long in the tooth was in J.C. Snaith's Love Lane (1919): "One of the youngest R.A.s (rear admirals) on record, but a bit long in the tooth for the Army."

The meaning is the same today, but the words don't seem to apply to humans. The answer is that long in the tooth originally referred only to horses. As horses age, their gums recede. Their teeth don't actually get longer, but they look longer. The older the horse, the longer its teeth look.

** Hey Jase, do your teeth look longer now? Heh eh.

Fly here, it's not on the no-fly list :)

Will that help?

Potential titles:

1. Lame pick-up lines of the weekend
2. "Deaf", "single" woman makes all ears and 'johnnies' go up
3. Ratio for Deaf men way too high compared to Deaf women (in my eyes)
4. Couldn't get enough of the creeps and the willies

That is enough to illustrate a picture of what it was all about this past weekend for me. It's happened before but it was too frequent and too claustrophobic for me recently that I had to escape at some times.

RATIO
To begin with, it's so true that the ratio for deaf men is higher to deaf women because I've grown up being the lone female of the gang playing sports, hanging out and so forth. It continued until I went into Gallaudet and I thought I'd find more females there but no, the men were fun to be with. The creeps and the willies were easy to handle because I think the desperation in these men were mild.

Up to the point where men decided to fraternalize themselves with other men, I was left to a choice: be a loner or participate in a sorority. I did have female friends but they were like me who had other circle of friends. My circle of friends just was to busy with their fraternity so I finally joined a sorority - that I can say it was a hell of an experience being with 15 other females everyday for more than a month. I was amazed at how they drove me up to being one of them at the near end prepping for a catfight but really, they all were great and I've learned so much about being a woman.

WOMAN, DEAF and SINGLE
Being a Deaf single woman in late 20s is like a being in a new culture with nobody but with predators. Number of Deaf single women is pretty low and that makes the challenge tough for Deaf men to hunt for Deaf women before they are hunted. I can't blame them Deaf men who want Deaf women for the comfort of the language they communicate in and the culture they can relate to but if they want to get the Deaf women, they can't just use the lame pick up lines!

LAME PICK UP LINES

1. "Tanner is handsome but if he is a yellow lab, he'd be gorgeous because you are."
2. "I can't deal you the cards until you put your underwear on the table"
3. "I see you really well" (for the hundredth time!)
4. "I cannot put the tent up myself so I need your help" when his friend was there helping his tent up.
5. "Can I borrow your thong because I cannot find my swimsuit?"
6. "I like it when you're in your skirt" with a wink.
7. "Can I feel your hair?"

Those were ones of the incessant verbal statements but there were more to it: creepy facial expressions and body languages. I was so grossed out and it was amazing how they had the balls to say that in front of the crowd. I had a few male buddies who saw that and had to laugh so hard or hide their faces because they were embarassed of their friends for saying that. Of course, they didn't do anything. I mentioned to my female friends and gay friends and they helped me out big time. I mean I did stand up for myself. I rejected their offers: free beers, money and help. I talked back and made it clear I am not interested, but sadly, they are truly desperate for a Deaf woman. Deaf women are often nowhere to be seen and when they see one, they just lose their mind.

It is so clear I had a few series of feeling the creeps and willies... Often I walked out and when I did, I wasn't mad at them. I wasn't blaming them. If only we all live in a Martha's Vineyard version, hearies and deafies wouldn't be an issue when finding someone because everyone would know how to sign.

*sighs* I thought I've gotten used to it but no, it just gets worse.

Where are all the Deaf women?!

I love reading short passages in books like, Who Put a Butter in Butterfly? By David Feldman. I come out of the bathroom door with a new knowledge every time :)

Where do the terms 'Jeeps' and the 'buck' (as a dollar) come from?

Why were Military Cars (and Now the Line of Chrysler Cars) called Jeeps?
During World War II, the jeep was developed by the United States as its basic military car. Its official designation was General-Purpose Vehicle. Jeep comes from the combining the initial sounds of General Purpose. According to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, prototypes of the jeep were called beeps, peeps, and, heaven help us, blitz buggies.

Why Does Buck Mean "a Dollar"?

Buck has meant "male deer" since the year 1000 in England and has meant "a dollar" in America since 1856. Despite the time gap, the two meanings are closely linked. In the early eighteenth century, traders and hunters used buckskin as a basic unit of trade. Any frontiersman who possessed many buckskins was considered a wealthy man.

How did buck come to mean specifically one dollar? In the early West, poker was the diversion of choice. A marker or a counter was placed to the left of the dealer to indicate who was the next to deal. This marker was traditionally called the buck, because the first markers were buckhorn knives. But in the Old West, silver dollars (i.e., one dollar), instead of knives were used as bucks.

The buck as poker counter yields the expression pass the buck, a favorite of politicans and bureaucrats everywhere, who usually are more than happy to evade responsibility for governing, dealing poker, or just about anything else, which was why it was surprising to hear Harry Truman, an admitted poker player, announce, "The buck stops here."

Found this article in my hometown newspaper under Opinion section:

WHAT THE HECK by John Van Heck

U.S. deals with Canadian pot head

You just gotta love the Americans. If you don't, then I probably love them enough to cover both of us.

This past week, the U.S. twisted our Canadian authority's arms hard enough to get one of Canada's largest internet pot seed peddlers extradited to the U.S. on drug trafficking charges.

Mark Emery has been openly selling his marijuana seeds into the U.S. and across Canada for years. He has boasted about the fact on the Internet and claims his sales hit the $3 million mark last year.

He is just one of many Canadians who snub their nose at the Canadian law and sell to whomever they want without the fear of prosecution.

Even though he and all the others are breaking the law in our country, our law enforcers and legal system have decided to not pursue the matter.

I guess they feel they can pick and choose which laws they will uphold and which ones get the back seat.

Forunately for all of us, the U.S. sees things a little differently.

If our liberal pansy Canadian government wants to let the pot heads run wild within our borders, that's OK with them but they clearly are prepared to defend their laws and their citizens from the Canadian seed peddlers. If we Canadians are too spineless to stand up against this illegal substance, then the Americans are prepared to clean our house for us.

Mark Emery could face decades in prison in the U.S. if found guilty.

Why am I not crying? Well as Baretta once said, "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time."

It is a crime on both sides of the border and if you are stupid enough to think that the U.S. is on the same legalize-marijuana bandwagon as Canada, then you have smoked one too many.

The U.S. has clearly had enough of Canada's lacking attitudes towards drugs and other traditionally common moral and ethical issues. Sharing their border with the New Amsterdam of the north was never part of the plan -- and it is truly their border. They have the power and the ability with all to severely limit access or shut it completely.

Would limited access to the U.S. hurt their feelings? I don't think so. What is it that they could not live without? Our garbage? Our Canadian Beef?

I can't wait to hear what hyper liberal defense the lawyers for Mark Emery will dream up. I am sure that they will point out that Mark's pot seeds have never hurt anyone. That there are millions of medicinal pot users that live more meaningful lives because of his great public service. That he knowingly has never destroyed a single life or hooked a kid on weed. That somehow the years of our law enforcement's neglect has given him and all other seed peddlers a free ticket to deal with immunity-- kinda like squatter's rights.

The guy probably should get a Nobel Prize.

The sad facts, that him and all the other proponents of legalizing pot seem to miss, are that their actions cause damage in many more families and kids then their fried little minds want to admit to.

If you still think that Mark Emery's pot seed business is harmless, then go talk to the frontline workers that deal with our kids each day.

Ask a high school teacher about the stellar outlook they have for the pot head in their classroom or ask a cop how likely a teenaged pot head will become a full time customer of his in adulthood.

They will tell you from firsthand experience how harmless it really is.

It doesn't matter what you think anyways-- the U.S. has come to the rescue.

God Bless American and all its outdated and old fashioned beliefs.

John Van Heck is a lifelong resident and an active member of the Wallaceburg community

As I was studying the history section, I began to understand how America was founded, the cause and effect relationships between decisions, actions and wars and who exactly were involved.

Information about when's when, who's who and and whatnot is still scattered in my head and I am not ready to discuss these things quite confidently.

However, I can share my experience as I studied along... through the timeline and the descriptions of the highlights/events. Though, this book is biased because it's american, I just noticed how often America rescued for themselves and for other countries.

According to this study guide, they saved themselves from being invaded by British troops. The Declaration of Independence by Jefferson included four sensible statements to keep their country sane. They then made their own country from sea to sea. Americans fought to save states or switch lands, such as Cuba for Florida. They stopped the war between Russia and Japan. America stayed neutral in both World Wars until someone messed them up, like in World War I, Russia violated the agreement by resuming unrestricted submarine warfare and eventually sunk American cruise liner, Lusitania... and in World War II when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Americans helped their allies defeat the wars. Americans helped some countries save their own countries from being invaded by other countries.

Americans went through hardships but were given opportunities to recover such as New Deal (governmental alphabet soup) and the War on Poverty.

Americans went through a lot and yes, there were bad decisions made. Every country makes them, we all do or did. I see how Americans are being offended oftentimes by other countries and even by their own people.

Let's just say I'm sticking to the bias of this book- what if Americans didn't fight for their country? What if Americans didn't help other countries? I cannot see the greatness in the end if for these supposedly approaches.

To begin with, British people may monopolize...
The defeat of the world wars may be the opposite. Some countries would be invaded and in turn, be manipulated by different type of gov't. Would the world be as bad or as great as the world is?

I'm glad how the world is now... Though, there are poverty and many things we need to work on, it takes time and more than one country. Americans cannot do it all to save the world. It just happens that the other countries do not take leaps to help other countries or some countries do not know to stand on their own feet. (Not speaking for all countries)

Americans feel that their country needs to focus on them but they are already intelligent and powerful to handle hardships.

I'm talking endlessly... There's so much to talk about and yet, I know I need to know more about what I just mentioned. I'm reading from one-sided book and sharing experiences of my own.

Why Policeman of the world? Teddy Roosevelt used 'big stick diplomacy' and turned United States into policeman of the world. He earned the Nobel Peace prize for stopping the Russo-Japanese War.

(By the way, Roosevelt was moved by the novel 'The Jungle' by Upton Sinclair which I am about to read after Harry Potter 6.)