Tag Archives: Florida

It Will Never Happen to Me!

Posted on September 9, 2017 | Leave a comment

For some reason, there seems to be a human proclivity for believing this.

I smoke, but I will never suffer from lung cancer.

My spouse will never know.

Global climate change is a myth.

My cellphone will always work.

Now that I’ve made it, I’m going to move into a beautiful home on the beach.

So, why, today, are people stuck in a giant traffic jam, headed north on Interstate 95, incommunicado, and out of gas?

It doesn’t matter, it will never happen to me.

P.S. I prepare for things that just might happen. I also try to help my community prepare, although much falls on deaf ears. Too bad—most people are capable of grasping the concept—they have smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, and fire insurance even though most of us know few (or none) who have lost a home in a fire. Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes—it will never happen to me.

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Posted in Communications, Culture, Media, Philosophy, Technology

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Autumn Leaves – A Different Thought

Posted on November 16, 2013 | Leave a comment
photo homtv.net

photo homtv.net

When I was growing up, people would rake up the leaves in the fall, sweep them to the curb and burn them in the street. The smell of fall was the smell of burning leaves.

Some people thought the smell was attractive. I haven’t thought of it in years. When I lived in Florida, there were few leaves to burn, and when they did it was usually an out-of-control wildfire. Burning palm trees smell like someone torched the dump. Wyoming had lots of wide open spaces unencumbered by trees, so there was no need to burn leaves.

Open fires are frowned on in Virginia. That frown comes with a citation and a fine.

Over time, up here in Ohio and Michigan, burning leaves changed. Many of the concrete or brick streets were covered over with asphalt. Asphalt tends to melt and/or burn, so burning fell out of favor. If you smelled burning leaves, it probably meant that someone parked over top of a pile of leaves and the heat from their catalytic convertor started a fire. Somehow the mix of burning car and burning leaves isn’t quite the same.

So it surprised me to find in southern Michigan – just over the line from Toledo, OH – to be exposed to the ubiquitous smell of burning leaves.

I think that burning leaves, whether autumn or tobacco, belongs to a time now past.

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Posted in People, Philosophy, Science, Solving Global Warming

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Minor Blessings

Posted on August 30, 2013 | Leave a comment

There are major blessings – My faith, my wife, my family – and there are minor blessings.

Some of the minor blessings I’ve had relate to places where I’ve lived. When we lived in Baton Rouge, a trip to New Orleans was as easy as a trip to the mall.

When we lived in Florida, a trip to Disney World or Universal Studios was a day trip and I watched space shuttle launches from my driveway.

While living in Wyoming, a trip to the high plains was, well, just outside the back door, and the Rocky Mountains were an easy drive.

Living in Virginia, I frequently drive by famous battlefields from the Revolutionary or Civil War. I can quickly get to the beach and with very little effort, to the mountains.

My wife and I are enjoying a long weekend together and decided to head up to Washington, DC – another quick trip. Since it is so close, and we have no specific agenda; we parked the car and will use the Metro for most, if not all travels. Who knows where we’ll end up?

I brought my camera, and haven’t taken any pictures yet, so there’s no picture today. I’ll try to post tonight, but, this is DC, so there hotel has a $10 charge per device for internet access and the next 24 hour chunk of access is her turn.

Nevertheless, the important thing is that as I’ve traveled through this life, God has blessed me at every turn. I guess it’s His way of saying, “I’m here,” and more importantly, “I care.”

Whether a blessing is earth-shatteringly large, or as small as finding something you’ve given up for lost, it’s nice to know God is here, and here for me.

He’s there for you to – and He’s never hard to find, if you just look for Him.

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Posted in Arts, Communications, Culture, Family, Friends, History, Holidays, Media, People, Philosophy, Religion, Technology

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Danger! Doom! And Disaster!

Posted on April 23, 2013 | 3 comments

Among all the doom and gloom that we read about every day, is one particularly troubling story.

Giant snails are invading Florida.

I lived in Florida for a few years, and remember my wife reading to me from a book about Florida. The book said you could describe Florida in one word.

Bugs.

Now I know snails are really terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs, but anything that makes you want to squish it qualifies as a bug in my book.

These snails are particularly nasty. They are Giant African Land Snails and get as big as rats while eating their way through stucco and plaster.

I believe that instead of panicking, we should act.

First, chill four cases of chardonnay.

Mix 100 pounds of butter with a quart of minced garlic and the juice and zest of two dozen lemons. Fire up the big grill and invite your friends over for an all-you-can-eat escargot party.

Better chill more chardonnay and add a couple of cases of beer.

grill

colbyandstacy.wordpress.com

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Posted in Business, Communications, Culture, Education, Friends, Humor, Media, People, Philosophy, Science, Solving Global Warming, Technology

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W.I.T.C.H.

Posted on November 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

You’ll have to go here to read the CNN article about a 61 year old computer that has been restored. Please note the picture.

While the technology of the computer has been eclipsed, what hasn’t changed is the way news photographers pose people for pictures. The W.I.T.C.H. computer used paper tape for input, and the photo shows two men – supposedly scientists, staring at the paper tape which has all of the information stored as holes punched into the paper.

Having used punched paper tape, I can tell you there’s nothing to be gained by a human looking at it.

However, I do recall that while I was in college an enterprising individual decided that the chads (remember chad from Florida?) – the little dots of paper punched out of the holes – would make great confetti. The teletype machines had a little plastic box into which all of the chads dropped, so he saved a bagful and took it to the next football game. Unlike plain paper the paper tape and its chads had some type of waxy coating, which meant that when it was tossed and ended up in people’s hair it would stick.

It took heavy duty shampoo, the 1970’s equivalent of a pressure washer and half a day to wash the chads out.

Wonder if someone at the museum will be tempted to try the chad confetti and have the same experience.

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Posted in Business, Communications, Culture, Education, Future, History, Humor, Media, People, Sports, Technology, Uncategorized

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