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Greetings,
Quotaholics:
I
lived in the Dallas, Texas area for several years in the late ’80’s early
’90’s. Part of that time I worked in Addison, just north of Dallas.
At that time Addison was booming. There were new office buildings, shopping
centers, apartments and restaurants being built as fast as they could
put them together. One day I saw an article in the newspaper stating that
a new Hooter’s restaurant was going to be built.
Suddenly the citizens were outraged. They wanted no part of an adult establishment
in their town.
There followed a great deal of public debate, interviews with Hooters
management, and promises that the waitresses costumes would not be too
revealing. The restaurant opened as planned, and as far as I can tell
the moral fabric of Addison, Texas is still whole.
I’ve never been to a Hooter’s so I went to their website
to see if I could gain any insight. There were a couple of things that
would make me think they are, in fact, a family restaurant.
First of all, the calendar of events showed that Sunday was "kids
eat free" day in Burlington, North Carolina. Second, and by far more
convincing to me, was the fact that there’s a Hooter’s in North Little
Rock, Arkansas long a gem in the buckle of the Bible Belt.
So why my sudden interest in Hooter’s? Actually it was an article and
video report at the website of television station ABC
15 in Arizona.
It seems that the choir director for Paradise Valley High School had taken
40 choir members to a downtown Phoenix venue to sing Christmas carols.
Afterward the group went to lunch. According to the director, Mary Segall,
the only restaurant that could seat such a large group was Hooter’s.
After an apparently uneventful meal, one of the students told his mother
where they had lunch. The parent complained to school officials and the
choir director is now on administrative leave.
At least one of the students seems to be reasonably sane about this. "’We
have cheerleaders that wear less than what they (the waitresses) wear.
And if you go to a public pool you see less than what they wear. It’s
not that big of a deal,’ said Paradise Valley High School student Cameron
Watt."
School district spokeswoman Judi Willis says the district believes there
were other options for lunch in downtown Phoenix.
It turns out that Ms. Segall had already announced that she would retire
in January, but it’s too bad that she has been placed on leave at this
point in her career.
Have you ever been to Hooter’s? Is it, in your opinion, a family place?
Is there anything about the place that would be harmful to high school
aged children? Would you be upset if your child went to Hooter’s on a
supervised outing? Does it seem over reactive to have placed the choir
director on leave for this?
Owlishly,
Comment
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“Aspire to greatness. But remember that no one ever assassinated a refrigerator
repairman.” - Bird Waring
“Virtue is often the result of insufficient temptation.” - Cheers, George
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Embarrassing Mistake
[Thanks Sied]
John meets Bill
at the bar and he is looking somewhat sheepish and embarrassed.
Bill says, “Hey John, what’s wrong?”
John says, “I received a party invitation last night and it plainly
said ‘Black Tie’ only. But when I got there, everyone was wearing
suits too!”
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“A University should be a place of light, of liberty, and of learning.”
“Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without
action.”
“How much easier it is to be critical than to be correct.” - All from
British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and
literary figure Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield born on
this date in 1804
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Funny
Decorations
[Thanks Noella]
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Speak right up!
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Smell
Have you ever visited an area and noticed it smelled different than
back home? As a kid, we often traveled past a paper mill somewhere
in South Carolina. When we got within sight of the mill, we knew it
was time to hold our breath. It was atrocious! But that isn’t what
I’m talking about, necessarily.
Every process occurring, natural and man-made, contribute to the environment.
With organic decomposition happening everywhere, and mankind using
all sorts of chemicals in innumerable ways in manufacturing, leeching
of these things into the atmosphere is inevitable. As they combine
into the atmospheric mixer of winds, a distinctive aroma ensues. But
I’m not talking about this either, necessarily.
Once I was walking down my neighborhood street on a balmy day near
the holidays. With temperatures unusually warm, many doors and windows
were open as residents baked cookies, pies, and many other culinary
concoctions to share with family & friends. Passing each house,
I could tell what each was preparing. But, neither is this what I’m
talking about, necessarily.
What I’m really meaning to discuss is something I observed. We recently
had a weather system come through that raised the temperatures significantly
in a short span of time. I’m talking about a 20 degree Fahrenheit
difference in a scant 3 hours. It was followed by the reverse effect
as the weather system passed, lowering the temperatures a whopping
20 degrees Fahrenheit in only 2 hours.
What does this have to do with smell, you ask? I’m no scientist, nor
do I have any "data" on this phenomenon I am about to share.
I cannot tell you why. I cannot tell you how. I can only speculate
with the limited knowledge I have. All I know is, there is a correlation
to temperature and smell.
I was outside, in the same location, when it was cold and warming,
when it warmed, as it was cooling back down, and finally when it was
back to cold. What I noticed, especially when it was cold, there was
a noticeable smell to the air. It wasn’t a strong aroma. It just was
noticeable. It was just as noticeable when it warmed as it smelled
differently.
I can’t tell you what was different. My sense of smell is not that
acute. I can’t even describe the smell in any comparative form to
be able to impart my experience so that you, the reader, share the
experience. I can only ask if you have ever had such an experience.
I know heated air has more volume than cold air. Thus, molecules floating
around in the cooler air are also compacted as air cools and becomes
more dense. The more molecules entering the nose, the more the sense
of the aroma we sense. Warming of the same air doesn’t remove the
smells, but just dilutes it a slight bit in the expansion. The same
particles are in the air, emitting the same odors. Our noses can often
tell a difference.
Here’s your quiz:
Have you ever noticed the smell of the air in your own neighborhood?
Have you noticed that cool, crisp air smells differently than warmer
air?
Has something you smelled become obnoxious when it warmed up, or cooled
down?
Smell - What The Nose Is Designed To Do
Cliff (the High-Tech Redneck who doesn’t rate a fancy ’signature pic’)
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Email Kirsten
“Let’s
be naughty and save Santa the trip.”
~ Gary Allan ~
OK, the news is in. I can’t remember where it came from, and I’m too
lazy - actually, let’s go with “too tired” because it sounds a lot better
- to look up the source. But the news is definitely in, and it is something
that everyone should pay attention to - particularly those who are parents,
grandparents, aunts or uncles, teachers, or anyone who has anything
to do with young kids. Because this is news that directly affects them.
It could be the key to everything that is going wrong with the youth
of today.
Here’s the scoop: Santa Claus is a bad influence and he’s ruining young
lives. Almost from the time they can walk, we are encouraging our kids
to love Santa Claus. Throughout the year, we tell them to strive to
be on Santa’s “nice” list. As December rolls around, we build up our
kids with promises to see Santa, get pictures taken with Santa, to receive
presents from Santa. On Christmas Eve, countless kids can barely sleep
because of the prospects of a visit from Santa.
And who is Santa, really? Well, he’s an obese man who leads a sedentery
lifestyle and has no clue about nutrition. He consumes way too many
cookies and way too much milk, and practically nothing of anything else.
Throughout the year, he sits around doing nothing while the elves work
day and night in his sweatshop - probably making less than minimum wage
- churning out toys for billions of children. He creates his “naughty”
and “nice” lists based on snap judgements of kids he doesn’t even know.
He allows the reindeer to bully poor Rudolph and exclude him from their
activities.
So far we have poor lifestyle choices, human rights violations, prejudice,
and condonement of bullying, and that’s not even counting what happens
on Christmas Eve.
On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus loads up his sleigh with all the toys,
gathers up the reindeer, and off he goes. Now, let’s think about the
sleigh for a moment. Santa is filling the sleigh with enough toys for
all the children in the world - at least those who made the “nice” list.
Can you imagine that payload? That sleigh must weigh several tons. Then
he’s actually making it to all of the houses of the “nice” children
in one night. Even if you allow for the fact that he has more than twenty-four
hours due to time zones and stuff, we’re talking high-speed travel here.
Forcing the reindeer to travel faster than the speed of sound for more
than twenty-four hours while carrying an unbearably heavy load, added
to the fact that there are no back-up reindeer so it’s too bad if one
doesn’t feel well… Now in addition to the human rights violations
and bullying and so on, we have animal cruelty.
Then there’s the fact that Santa does all of this high-speed travel,
plus some pretty adventurous roof-surfing in icy conditions, all without
wearing a helmet. That’s reckless irresponsibility. He spends the whole
night engaging in breaking and entering. Criminal behaviour. And the
fact that he can actually do all of this for an extended period of time
without falling asleep suggests to me that there are some pretty intense
mood-altering substances involved.
So we have poor lifestyle choices, human rights violations, prejudice,
condonement of bullying, animal cruelty, reckless irresponsibility,
criminal behaviour, and drug abuse.
What kind of role model is this for our children?
As I shake my head in disbelief at the state of the world, I wish you
all a happy, Santa-filled holiday season!
Kaleidoscopically yours,
Kirsten
Canadian citizen as of December 11th, 2009
Comment
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Tim
wasn’t able to write today, so here’s a Christmas classic from the
archive.
I have a new computer. Well, it’s an old new computer, but parts of
it are new. It’s fast. It’s really fast. I have been working on getting
all the bits and pieces working for about a week, and when it did,
I proudly announced my success on MWC.
My good friend
Gyppo apparently thought
I was being a bit of a braggart, so he tried to pick on me. Remember,
this is the same guy that lopped my head off whilst I was trying to
raise money for his daughter. You think he would have learned long
ago that picking on me isn’t as easy as it looks, but he hasn’t. I’ll
let him tell you about it.
I am
perched in a rather uncomfortable little metal stool following the
sad and rather sudden death of my much loved and loyally hard-working
gas-lift swivel chair. It had been making threatening noises for the
last few weeks, and gradually beginning to wobble. Plus it needed
re-gassing.
Bouncing
around on it last night during the impromptu party as Ilistened to
the drinking song and Sabre Dance probably helped in its demise.
Originally
I thought the noises came from the wooden base in the plastic pan,
assuming a crack in the wood. When the seat pan started to tilt, as
happened with my earlier cheapo swivel seat, I thought the lug where
it fitted on top of the vertical shaft was coming loose. In that case
I knew a good bodge. Use a Pepsi can shim to take up the slack, drive
it all back into line with a lump hammer, and then drill through and
fit an expanding roll pin.
So
that was the Master plan, which was scheduled - if such a term can
be used for any of my rather loose planning - to take place after
Christmas. Along with re-upholstering the seat pan. I had a nice bit
of black denim ready for the job.
I’ve
always been more than happy to repair good stuff which has earned
it keep, rather than just replace. This was a chair which would have
cost over £50 new, although I picked it up for £3 as a
bargain. It was tough as hell, not one of those budget priced things
which are designed for occasional use.
I’ve
sometimes spent more than twelve hours a day perched on that thing,
and can’t even guess how many words have flowed through my fingers
during the six years or so it has served me.
It
has worked seven days a week and during that time has come to fit
my arse perfectly. The back is adjustable too and compared to all
the chairs which have been and gone before it was bliss.
And
now it is dead…
I
sat on it this morning, logged onto MWC, and just before the end of
my morning tease of Tim there was a sudden crack and back it went.
It’s
funny how the adrenaline hyper-speed kicks in. My initial thought
was that the back has snapped off. Second thought was mental picture
of where I was going to land. There’s not a lot of spare space in
my room, so the thought of bringing down an eight-high stack of book
crates on top of me didn’t hold much appeal. But neither did the thought
of throwing myself the other way and smacking the back of my head
against the wooden end of my bed.
But
instinct usually works out okay for me, and tears of falling in the
showman’s arena have left a fine set of reflexes even if the body
isn’t as supple as it once was.
I
managed to break the fall a little with one elbow on the edge of my
bed and the other on the smaller - two-high - pair of crates which
supports my scanner and a few other odds and ends.
At
this point - about halfway to the floor - I realised that the seat
pan and back were still connected and had just snapped away from the
vertical stem, which was rearing up between my legs, sporting a crown
of ragged metal.
I
hit the ground with one hell of a thump, but managed not to fall back
full length. My stiff and dodgy knee was bent at an angle I would
prefer it not to adopt at the moment, and I had to bend it even more
acutely - and briefly agonisingly - to disentangle it from where it
was trapped between the leg of my writing desk and my bed.
I
could hear Mum charging upstairs, making remarkably rapid progress
for a lady of 83 with her own collection of stiff joints,and called
out that I was alright. But she didn’t hear me and came tearing in
like an ageing Valkyrie to the rescue.
Had
we needed an ambulance she would have had to jump over me and the
broken remnants of my chair, and the gleam in her eyes suggested she
would have done it in one flying leap.
In
between much laughing and much repeated use of the phrase "Buggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbugger"
I convinced her I wasn’t damaged.
After
a few minutes to recover I then had the problem of disentangling myself
from my surroundings, with one dodgy leg which flatly refused to bend
again and was no use for pushing myself up. It took a while, but eventually
I managed to lever myself onto my bed using just my arms, and then
had another session of "Buggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbuggerandsoddin’damn
as well".
This
reassured Mum no end and she wandered off to make me a cup of coffee
as I say there holding my knee and cursing softly. It had been getting
better.
Mum
returned with the coffee and said she’d "Never known so much
buggering at any one time," but "I knew you weren’t really
damaged because that’s your annoyed and thwarted word."
She’s
right too.
And
right now I’ve been sat on this damned stool for too long. If I can
find one at the right price I know what my Christmas present to myself
is going to be this year. But first I’ve got to get my knee sorted
out so I can walk over the office furniture showroom.
So,
one more quiet but heartfelt chorus of "Buggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbugger".
Gyppo,
I hope your knee feels better, but if you try to pick on me again,
your new chair will attack you too. I have a gift.
Tim a’Musing
Having a Ball with Fear
E-mail Dear Tim
Comment
on this article
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Miscellaneous Tips
Poke a hole in the middle of the hamburger patties while shaping them.
The burgers will cook faster and the holes will disappear when done.
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I need to check my mail more closely. I
found one from Cassandra I had missed. I even found an old one
from sied.
Next opening line…
Saint Nick is a commin to town…
Hints:
Here’s a great new rhyming/composition tool. http://www.writerhymes.com/
There’s also a great rhyming dictionary at http://www.rhymezone.com/
Limerick rules. http://freespace.virgin.net/merrick.sheldon/limerickrules.htm
Submit
Opening Line
Submit
Limerick
There
once was a fellow called Glenn
Who wrote limericks every now and then
His rhymes were the best
His pacing had zest
And he used them to woo lots of women. — Ray of Sunshine
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There
once was a fellow called Glenn…..
Been around since I don’t know when…..
He was bad to flirt…..
With anything in a skirt…..
‘Til he found out a couple were men. - Skeeter |
There once
was a fellow called Glenn…..
Who orbited the earth way back then…..
When he landed in the drink…..
And his capsule didn’t sink……..
He said, "I’m ready to do it ag’in. - Skeeter |
There once
was a fellow named Glenn
Who tried to live a life full of zen
But things got in the way
The things that make up our day
Now he sits in the bar drinking gin. - Bonnie |
The sleigh
is packed, ready to fly—
I won’t go to places nearby—
Far away I’ll go—
hopefully won’t hit snow
as I will be up high in the sky. - Cassandra in New York |
My guy is
both naughty and nice
The picture of virtue and vice
I would be hard pressed
To say which I liked best
The variety adds lots of spice. — Ray of Sunshine |
Winter is
here with his grouch,
The time when you sneeze and slouch.
You can’t take your women
Canoein’ or swimmin’,
But a lot can be done on a couch. - sied |
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Re: Porn Effects
I’m not sure what efforts
to legislate pornography away you refer to. I think regulation is
a good option for a couple of aspects of the trade. First, humans
are naturally circumspect about sex. We see that in every culture,
but not in our ancestors. Obviously, we now have a gene to create
prudes, which is sometimes very strong, and sometimes weak enough
to produce an exhibitionist. That operates independently from the
straight/gay adjustment, etc. So, public nudity is truly offensive
to a significant portion of the population. To me, it is just a "dirty"
trick for advertisers to distract me with. Either way, I’d be glad
to see fewer sexy images, including manga, in website advertising
inserts. If someone’s product is itself pornography, it could be kept
behind an "adults only" sign well understood by any prospective
customers.
The other issue is over possible health effects. Sites selling porn
should also have links prominently displayed to give first-time users
some perspective, so that a daring child does not grow up with just
an image or two in memory of some specialty, seared in just before
a parental ban. Pushing the "I’m underage" button should
still get an attractive, educational link. There should also be handy
links to help customers subject to the addictive aspects of porn,
just as there should be for people who overdo it on junk food, gambling,
or drugs. Research has not turned up any cases of blindness or hairy
palm, but there are social effects. I think porn exploits men far
more than it does women. Much of the opposition to it has thus been
wasted, along with the healthy opportunities the business creates.
- Bob of the North
I watch porn. I
read porn. I have no imagination, so, it’s a means to an end. I would
be more shocked if my 10 year old sons hadn’t been curious about porn.
And, no, I don’t think they can ever legislate it out of existence.
As long as sex sells, and it always will, advertising will capitalize
on that fact. What is advertising but soft porn? No. Porn will never
go away. - L&K, herm
Re: Kids And Death
Kirsten, I love your explanation
that your son’s teacher’s "body was broken and he couldn’t live
in it anymore." How perfect! And not just for little ones, either;
it’s exactly how I look at death. I just didn’t have the right words
before. I do now. Thanks.
Your kids are lucky to have you. And so are we. - OhioKat
Re: Art In Nature
Yes, I take pictures
of nature fairly often, far more than human subjects. I am sometimes
inspired by shapes or functions in nature when I make drawings, models,
and prototypes of machines which serve people with less impact on
nature. Fluid dynamics often dictate flowing shapes for part of an
object, which can be carried through giving an organic look. If decoration
is needed, though, I am more likely to turn to geometry than nature
motifs. - Bob of the North
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Disclaimer- All quotes printed in this publication are believed to be
accurately attributed, but no guarantees are made that some incorrectly
attributed, or even outright false quotes won’t get in here from time
to time. I assure readers that I will do my best to weed out incorrect
quotes, and will print a retraction as soon as I become aware of any errors.
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