Random Thoughts
- Thread starter GrahamLewis
- Start date
If you have a foreign object that needs dislodging, then maybe?
Worth a try.
When I was working in a shop, we used to hit stuff a lot and give it a jolt to see if it started working again. We called it "percussive maintenance."
For kitchen equipment we coo, caress, and speak sweet nothings. Strangely, it works.
Random thought: I am reminded of an anecdote I read the other day about Victor Mature, a famous actor in the days when Hollywood made sword-and-sandal films (e.g. about ancient Rome, ancient Egypt etc. -- think "Cleopatra" with Elizabeth Taylor, etc.)
Victor and his castmates had a limited time for lunch, and didn't have time to change out of their Roman gear, dash across the road to a diner for lunch, and get back again. But they wanted some lunch.
So Victor said, "Follow me..." and everyone marched across the street with their breastplates and helmets and spears and so on.
The landlord was obviously nonplussed, until Victor said "What's the matter? Don't you serve members of the armed forces?"
Victor and his castmates had a limited time for lunch, and didn't have time to change out of their Roman gear, dash across the road to a diner for lunch, and get back again. But they wanted some lunch.
So Victor said, "Follow me..." and everyone marched across the street with their breastplates and helmets and spears and so on.
The landlord was obviously nonplussed, until Victor said "What's the matter? Don't you serve members of the armed forces?"
Which reminds me of the way cheaply-made movies with religious themes were termed "Biblical bathrobe" movies.
Victor Mature was the Arnold Schwarzenegger of his day. My favorite story about him concerns Groucho Marx, who was asked if he'd seen the latest Victor Mature movie. He replied, "Naw. I never go see any movie where the tits on the guy are bigger than the tits on the girl."
Speaking of anecdotes, I remember reading this one:
In a Sun Valley restaurant, a stranger asked Ernie Hemingway for his autograph. "Thanks, Mr. Hemingway," the pleased visitor said cheerfully when he got the signature.
He passed the table again and said, "Hello, Mr. Hemingway."
Intoxicated by being so near the great man, the stranger permitted himself another walk past, this time calling out, "Hi, Ernest!"
Further giddied by Hemingway's acknowledging nod, the man made one final pass, this time calling, "Hello, Papa!"
Hemingway lowered his beard and raised his arms. "Hellooo!" he roared. "And goodbyyyye!"
In a Sun Valley restaurant, a stranger asked Ernie Hemingway for his autograph. "Thanks, Mr. Hemingway," the pleased visitor said cheerfully when he got the signature.
He passed the table again and said, "Hello, Mr. Hemingway."
Intoxicated by being so near the great man, the stranger permitted himself another walk past, this time calling out, "Hi, Ernest!"
Further giddied by Hemingway's acknowledging nod, the man made one final pass, this time calling, "Hello, Papa!"
Hemingway lowered his beard and raised his arms. "Hellooo!" he roared. "And goodbyyyye!"
Twain anecdotes are always fun. 
Here's another:
"In a world without women," Twain was once asked, "what would men become?"
"Scarce, sir," replied Twain. "Mighty scarce."
Here's another:"In a world without women," Twain was once asked, "what would men become?"
"Scarce, sir," replied Twain. "Mighty scarce."
Remember that Hemingway six-word story? "Sorry soldier, shoes sold in pairs."?
www.bbc.co.uk
Just do it: Why I want Nike, Puma and Adidas to sell single shoes
Former Para-athletic world champion Stef Reid says footwear companies are failing amputees.
www.bbc.co.uk
In one of his books on computers, John Bear told of one of the internet's first uses: acting as a clearing house for one-legged people to exchange shoes to each other. They'd buy a pair and post a picture of the shoe they didn't need, and somebody else would trade one of their own useless shoes for it. It was something, he said, that nobody would have thought of as a possible use for the net.Remember that Hemingway six-word story? "Sorry soldier, shoes sold in pairs."?
Just do it: Why I want Nike, Puma and Adidas to sell single shoes
Former Para-athletic world champion Stef Reid says footwear companies are failing amputees.
If my math is correct, I am the exact same age, to the day, as my father was the day I moved to Japan (for "a year to eighteen months) almost twenty-five years ago.
I am violently, passionately ambivalent about this fact.
He had achieved many things by that age that I haven't. He made about twice as much (unadjusted for inflation) than I do now. He was on his fifth house (consecutive, not concurrent). He'd owned any number of cars, which he cared for well and replaced only when necessary. I rent an apartment and ride a bicycle or the bus to work.
OTOH, I'm still on my first marriage, so that's something.
I am violently, passionately ambivalent about this fact.
He had achieved many things by that age that I haven't. He made about twice as much (unadjusted for inflation) than I do now. He was on his fifth house (consecutive, not concurrent). He'd owned any number of cars, which he cared for well and replaced only when necessary. I rent an apartment and ride a bicycle or the bus to work.
OTOH, I'm still on my first marriage, so that's something.
Yeah, but you live in Japan and seem to get along just fine. Could he have done that? That takes balls. I couldn't do it.
Was he happy or content though? Are you? If you ask me (which you didn't
) that's the real measure of a life. Not the number of houses and cars or the size of a bank account.
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It comes down to priorities and values. I'm guessing you value different things than he. I know I do, compared to my parents.
And, personally, I think that's a bit more than something. Relationships take more effort, and hopefully return more value, than most other things in life.
This morning, while reading about early Scotch-Irish Americans, I learned that many of them dwelt in partially joined cabins with covered porch-like areas between them called "dogtrots." You can search "dogtrot cabins" to see examples.
I’m a fan. I’ve always appreciated rustic charm. And now I’m feeling a little wistful…
I’m a fan. I’ve always appreciated rustic charm. And now I’m feeling a little wistful…
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There was an old dogtrot cabin on the land where my mother was born. When her grandfather sold the place, the new owner cut down the trees to make a pasture and tore down the cabin. Even when I was a child, houses in that part of the south were built with rooms on either side of a long hall with doors at each end, the modern version of a dogtrot. The style facilitated air circulation in a hot climate.
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