My eyes bothered me all evening, but appear to be doing much better now. I don't like having a cold, but it is still better than dealing with the flu- which, knock-on-wood, I didn't get this season. It has always bothered me that the flu shots are only tested in the labs. We are the beta testers. Many people get sick or die from them. I never get flu shots. As I get older, I'm sure that I'll have to deal with that situation again.
I see now that more and more people are believing that there really is an electronic problem with the Toyota accelerator. Also, the CEO said today that he regrets that safety suffered in the name of growth. Now other officials are saying that the current recalls are not going to fix the main issue of uncontrolled acceleration.
I'm really disappointed that the inherently Japanese pride has disbursed in these products. It will be a long time before consumer confidence will be restored. Cutting the price or adding a large warranty will not cut it here. It will take extraordinary measures.
Your Annual Dementia Test
It's that time of year to take our annual senior citizen test.
Exercise of the brain is as important as exercise of the muscles.
As we grow older, it's important to keep mentally alert.
If you don't use it, you lose it!
Below is a private way to gauge your loss or non-loss of intelligence.
Take the test presented here to determine if you're losing it or not.
The spaces below are so you don't see the answers until you've decided on your answer.
OK?
Now relax, clear your mind and begin.
1. What do you put in a toaster?
Answer: 'bread.' If you said 'toast,' give up now and do something else.
Try not to hurt yourself. If you said, bread, go to Question 2.
2. Say 'silk ' five times. Now spell 'silk.' What do cows drink?
Answer: Cows drink water. If you said 'milk,' don't attempt the next question. Your brain is over-stressed and may even overheat. Content yourself with reading a more appropriate literature such as Auto World. However, if you said 'water', proceed to question 3.
3. If a red house is made from red bricks and a blue house is made from blue bricks and a pink house is made from pink bricks and a black house is made from black bricks, what is a green house made from?
Answer: Greenhouses are made from glass. If you said 'green bricks, ' why are you still reading these???
If you said 'glass,' go on to Question 4.
4. It's twenty years ago, and a plane is flying at 20,000 feet over Germany (If you will recall, Germany at the time was politically divided into West Germany and East Germany.) Anyway, during the flight, two engines fail. The pilot, realizing that the last remaining engine is also failing, decides on a crash landing procedure. Unfortunately the engine fails before he can do so and the plane fatally crashes smack in the middle of 'no man's land' between East Germany and West Germany. Where would you bury the survivors? East Germany, West Germany, or no man's land'?
Answer: You don't bury survivors.
If you said ANYTHING else, you're a dunce and you must stop. If you said, 'You don't bury survivors', proceed to the next question.
5. Without using a calculator - You are driving a bus from New York to Chicago. In Newark, 17 people get on the bus. In Bloomsburg, six people get off the bus and nine people get on. In Dubois, two people get off and four get on. In Youngstown, 11 people get off and 16 people get on. In Toledo, three people get off and five people get on. In Gary, six people get off and three get on. You then arrive at Chicago.
What was the name of the bus driver?
Answer: Don't you remember your own name? It was YOU!!
PS: 95% of people fail most of the questions!!
AS PROMISED: "The lighter side..." and free erudite opinions (and whines and gripes, that may not be politically correct), hyperboles and advice (on current events as well as topics for the digerati), and even some temporary(?) insanities too (daily risibility exercises)!... And the Picture-Of-The-Week:
Picoftheweek
My Statement
"Let me emphatically say that I am not anti-Facebook (Fleecebook), anti-smart phone, anti-Microsoft, anti-Apple, anti-Google or anti-Internet. I do believe, though, that the consumer is being ripped off of his privacy, identity and purchase history. We are being herded into a Facebook corner where what we "Like" and where we go physically and on the net will be scrutinized and sold numerous times to actually corrode and erode our culture while tempting us only with convenience, high tech and flashing video screens. The unsuspecting consumers need to be aware..." - Gary Lapman
Quote of Note
“If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit.”-W.C. Fields
"For the strength of the Wolf is in the Pack, and the strength of the Pack is in the Wolf." - Rudyard Kipling
"For the strength of the Wolf is in the Pack, and the strength of the Pack is in the Wolf." - Rudyard Kipling
“Fame is vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wing, but only character endures.” - Matthew McConaughey
"In order to keep a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him"
"Sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason" - Jerry Seinfeld
"Fleecebook is free, you (and your identity) is the product!" - Gary Lapman
"Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves." - Eric Sevareid
"'Smart' phones are only smart for the cell phone providers!" - Gary Lapman
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." -- Charles Babbage (1791-1871)
“Put your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like a minute. THAT'S relativity.” -Albert Einstein
"Technology creates the illusion of companionship without the intimacy of friendship." - unknown
"No worry, there's an app for that..." - Gary Lapman