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Monday, December 31, 2012
Post #2638. More wurds. This blog has always attempted to bring along new things about words and language that readers may not have discovered elsewhere. The word tonight is Xacuabš. It is from the Lushootseed language and means "great amount of water." It makes a good name for a large lake. This is a geographic reference and would not be used for a flood or personal accident. Interesting how native peoples were able to form in a single word an expression which takes an entire phrase for us. Happy New Year y'all. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Post #2637. Small town. Only a few people were in the coffee shop that day. It was a bit early, but the place would fill up shortly with the usual lunch crowd. Jessica had decided on an early lunch for her mother’s birthday. Mrs. Elaine Davis was 79 and had insisted that any celebration be modest, in favor of a big vacation or cruise next year. Just about the last thing anyone would have expected was for the door to bang open loudly and a young, scruffy, zitty man to rush in, shouting, “Everybody get down and give it up!” or some variation of that as remembered by the several witnesses. The very last thing anyone would have expected was for Mrs. Davis to pull out her Smith and Wesson BODYGUARD® 38 Special handgun and put a hole right between his squinty eyes. At least one other person in the coffee shop was not all that shocked. Everett Knuth had been a young assistant in his father’s mortuary forty-some years earlier when he accompanied him to a job out on Long Drive. He remembered the sheriff saying, “Yup. Too bad. Looks like a massive heart attack all right,” as they all .. the sheriff, the deputy, Mrs. Davis, Jessica and the two EMT guys .. looked down at the extremely dead Mr. Davis and his extremely prominent middle-of-the-forehead bullet hole. As it turned out, that put an end to his brief unfortunate habit of sneaking into Jessica’s room late at night and molesting her. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Friday, December 14, 2012
Post #2636. Late night habits. I've become a creature of habit, and one of these is doing the dishes at 1:45 in the morning. I'm not the only one around here fixed at that time. Our long-surviving rat gets up and takes a dump at that exact time as well. He is amazingly regular. Stinks up the whole house for about half an hour. You wouldn't think something so tiny .. anyway .. eventually I'll get him. I've dispatched two of his relatives in as many days. The second one is dead, electrocuted, in the box with the blinking red light next to the dining room wall. I'm just not up to dealing with it tonight. I'd rather type. The one I caught yesterday was stuck on a glue board. Unsettling. He screamed constantly as I put him in a bag for disposal. The third character in our 1:45am confluence is the old lady who lives in the house behind me, She gets up, goes outside, lights a cigarette and coughs her guts out non-stop until it's smoked. It's one of those awful, long, wet, old lady coughs like nails on a chalkboard. I've seen her. She's a hag. Looks just like she sounds. She does this every night, even when it's far befow freezing with feet of snow on the ground. I know that some night, eventually, I won't hear her. Wonder who'll go first?Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Post #2635. Sweatin' like a prize hog. Wonder what rich people do? I mean when they buy a small appliance which is, of course, made in China and broken down so it can be shipped within rectangular constraints. Do they have people for that too? I'm too ingravescent to type out the whole thing. Besides, it's been done. What I want to know is how we got to this point and why we continue to put up with it. Most of the vaunted productivity gains of the past quarter century have been achieved simply by transferring the grunt work to the consumer, and we're thrilled with all the money we save. Some thrill. I'd throw open the window and do a howardbeale if it would make any difference. On the upside, the small appliance was a fan. All that was just a distraction. What I wanted to type about was my new book. I have a couple of beginnings begun: Upon landing on the promising planet, the space survey team quickly discovered a race of sentient beings who typed into their television sets too.Only you have to be in the right mood for sci-fi, so that's as far as I got with Space Bureaucrats. Then, The dominatrix was cross and impatient tonight. This could spell trouble. The lovingly creepy smile which had so enchanted him before seemed more ominous as he struggled to remember the safe word.Again, going nowhere. They say write what you know, but 260 pages on shrubbery? I know, a shrubbery mystery! I'll get back to you.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Post #2634. Everyone is counting blessings today. Including our murderers on-the-run community who have to be thrilled at this news. The text of the article (click to expand) says that the cold case squad has run out of funding and will disband at the end of the year.  In other news, the sixth class of officers will begin sensitivity trainng this week. Officials estimate the entire force will have completed the classes by next summer, and funds have become available for training on Environmental Awarenesss at that time. You're being silly about the training, right? They aren't really doing this. Are they? Did I mention this is Seattle?Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Post #2633. Raining tonight. In Seattle. The kind of rain where it has rained all day, rained all evening, and now it is getting wired up to rain all night. It will plink on the leaves and tap on the grass and then make that lovely whooshing tire sound when the rare car goes by. Who would want to go anywhere? It is dark as outer space, very chilly, and wet as only it can get wet in this town. Probably somebody heading out for the graveyard shift. I've done graveyard in Seattle. Spooky, cold and weirder than many other places. Oh, and wet. Anyway, after it finishes raining all day, raining all evening, and finally raining all night long, you will get up and look in the in the morning paper and it will say .01 inch.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Post #2632. Quiz. Who made the following statement? WHAT WE ARE FACING IS A PLANETARY EMERGENCY.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Friday, November 02, 2012
Post #2631. Et tu, Prudential? Of course, I should use bifocals. If I did, the check would have been written for the amount of the premium due instead of the dividend. So many numbers, so little attention span. To shorten this up, I discovered it the next day while filing, called the mechanical information center to get the mailing address for that type of mistake and sent off a new check. About ten days later, I received a notice from Prudential and THAT'S when I got on the phone. It was the same lady machine. Evidently, she handles all the calls, only this time I became hopelessly lost somewhere in her mind. Help sent me to General Help, same person there! Complete Silence While Not Even Breathing got me "Sorry, I didn't hear that." She had the bases covered better than an indignant 40-year wife just inside the door at 3:31am with a rolling pin. Eventually, I managed the golden reply (which is "REPRESENTATIVE," by the way, make a note) and was call-forwarded to Tim. I suppose it started to go downhill when I mused aloud that it seemed unlikely that "for my protection," the giving my full address, ZIP code and telephone number to a complete stranger was truly in my best interest. Although Tim retained his basic English-speaking ability, he suddenly lost the comprehension part. I could tell when he asked me if I had been drinking when the dog-bite occurred. The usual ponderously long story made short, I eventually got to a genuine 'maircun named Roger in Wisconsin. He told me, after some prodding, that Tim was in Panama. AHA! A new location in my call center trip around the globe. One of these days I'm going to land in a country where I speak the language, like Amharia or Urdustan and then I'll have them, won't I? Incidentally, Roger was so oily that I needed a Arm 'n Hammer rubdown when I finally got done with him. Seriously, folks, this doesn't happen very often, and I want to assure you that I DO NOT START IT. Many, many times I have had delightful exchanges with customer service and learned all about Jean Ann's acceptance into beauty school and Uncle Horace's battle with psoriasis. Because I ask. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Post #2630. About A blog for Peace. There is a kind of funny story to go along with that one.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Post #2629. Sleepy Hollow When I remember being out at night in my wasted youth, sometimes it causes a little shiver. Especially when watching the late news with the sound turned down, in October. If you allow yourself to personalize the stories, some people have had very unfortunate luck and maybe one of their worst days ever. Bullet holes in the car tell one story. So does a picture of another car which evidently rolled over at least once. Imagine finally getting home after everything involved with an episode like that. Most events after midnight involve a car, like being shot at from one even. None of those things ever happened to me. I never got stopped, even with my head hanging out the window trying to remain conscious. Never hit, got hit or shot at. Yes, I am completely aware of the good fortune which smiled and am grateful for it every day. Some virtual friends of mine have had a rough couple of months - all of 2012 really. Cars, products, sickness. I was going to leave a comment saying that their last illness sounded a lot like the beginnings of the male menopause - decided against. Why ruin their next two decades? Two decades? Yeah, they don't tell you that. The ladies get over it in a few years max, but for us it goes on and on and on with new things one after another for at least 25 years. Then we die. The good thing is that we don't get the moods. All through the entire epic torture, worry and misery we retain the good humor of our normal pleasant selves. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Post #2628. A blog for Peace. So, what about the Indians, huh? And then there was slavery. Not to mention Texas which we took. We're not always right. In fact we're hardly ever right as we bully ourselves around the world. People just want to be happy and give peace a chance. It looks like the U.S. is going to bomb all the Iraqi children, and one blonde, just so Bush (who wasn't even elected, btw!!) can get the oil. Well, if that happens, I'm not buying any more oil. Nope, just gas for my Mini. Saddam is evil and we need to let the inspectors find all the weapons of mass destruction so the Iraqi people can vote him out. We need to have the UN handle the wars when there need to be wars which shouldn't be very often. We also need to follow what the UN says because all the elected countries are there, even the small ones. What did the Iraqis ever do to us? Nothing. It was the Arabs who caused 911. If we went to any country and bombed it, that would be the one, but we shouldn't because diplomacy is better. Look how few wars the French get into, and it's because they are experienced at diplomacy, something we could learn from. The money we spend over there should be spent on the homeless and the poor. If we took all that money and gave it to the poor, there wouldn't be any more poor. It's that simple. When you keep all the money and take the oil, it's no wonder they don't like us. Peace.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Friday, October 12, 2012
Post #2627. Flatware. Yeah, I know no one comes in here, but just in case .. there is an American company still making table stainless steel flatware, barely. I bought some awhile back and I love it. So shiny. So, go to Target or Silver Superstore and buy some. The company making the stuff is Sherill Manufacturing.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Post #2626. Chase. I got a little taste of how things are for them today, the other half. Our amnemonic mailman, bless his heart, makes his delivery each afternoon and then all the ladies and a few gentlemen from the various houses meet and exchange all the mail back and forth until everyone has what belongs to them. Sometimes this goes awry, as it evidently did when Chase Bank mailed me my last credit card statement. I never received the bill, though no one in the credit world would ever believe such a lame one, or care; I certainly know that. Today I got the zinger, the type of statement that deadbeats get, including a $39.00 late fee and a $4.68 finance charge [with an effective Annual Percentage rate of 16.99% they were kind enough to inform me.] Those readers who know me suspect that this turn of events did not go over well. I had a brief surge of the old me, the indignant, letter-writing gadfly, but I'm just too old for the nonsense anymore. So, I just paid it. Then I cancelled the card, without drama. You have to be kidding. No drama!? Nope, I just called up "Jeffrey" in Bangalore where it was beastly early in the morning, had a nice chat and cancelled it. Didn't even tell him why. Mr. James Dimon became Chairman of the Board of Chase on December 31, 2006, and has been Chief Executive Officer and President since December 31, 2005. Just so you know who runs this thing. So, my forty-some bucks got added to the assets of J.P. Morgan Chase which, at the end of 2006, stood at $1198942000000.00. [They round amounts off to the nearest million.] In the old days, the company which preceded the Thing which J.P. Morgan Chase has become would have cared about losing a customer. Now that banks have pretty much supplanted The Mob and small time Loan Sharks and become Trillionesque Ongoing Criminal Enterprises, they recognize that 70,000 people are added to the population of the earth every day and they needn't worry about the few who slip off the edge. Like me. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Tuesday, October 09, 2012
Post #2625. This got lost back when it snowed. I kidded around about the weather before, but it is feeling more serious tonight. Once the stories about last night got around, people were shaking their heads with wonder. Those football fans ... some of them didn't get home until morning, 9-10 hours after the game ended. And it wasn't simply because Seatleites are weather wimps. Hills. I would challenge anyone to master one of those hills. We can't even get our paper and mail. Anyway, the rich part. They interviewed the Dept of Transportation spokesman. Amazing. He exlained, with a completely bland face, you know, the kind a typical oblivious governmnent employee would have, that the reason they had no trucks out is because their independent in-house weather service predicted rain. Later, of course, they could not get the trucks going because the tens of thousands of abandoned cars were in the way.
Friday, October 05, 2012
Post #2624. A sad state of affairs. Two words came to me today. The first one, BITCH used be applied when a very bad woman did or said something very, very awful. Now, it's just a synonym for woman. All women, any woman. The other one, BASTARD, was technically an unkind word used to define a person whose parents weren't married. Believe it or not, this used to matter. More generally, people were called that if they angered someone. Nowadays, if a teacher comes into the classroom and says, "All right, you litle bastards, time to get to work," technically this is very likely to be correct.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Post #2623. Touchdown. I usually cut the Christians a break. Some of my friends .. well, Facebook friends anyway, a few of whom I haven't seen in over fifty years. After all, they haven't been admitted to the PC club and even the Muslims who, face it, really don't have a leg to stand on in the over-the-top department, feel free to attack them. Still, after tonight's game, the player who caught the game-winnning pass had this to say, I feel Blessed to have been in the right position to catch that ball.Yeah. And I have it on good authority that God was so stoked that He leapt to His feet with a sublime shout of approval, spilling His beer.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Friday, September 21, 2012
Post #2622. Or, when taint became a noun. You can look it up on dictonary-dot-com or go to the Urban Dictionary. They each have their perspective. However, Wikipedia wins, again. A complete academic discussion, with illustrations, detailing anatomy, physiology and function. It's amazing how I am continually distracted by a stray thought when I'm on the way over here to type something for the ages.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Post #2620. We think you might not have cancer after all. Sorry about that. No, that isn't exactly how it went, but it might as well have. The rest did. "Oo-ee Jake, come and looky at this 'un. Ever see a Melanoma like thet afore?" "Nossir, I never did for sure." Me: "Doctor, is that serious?" "Serious? Serious!? Har-har ... son, yur dead! Oh, we'll still cut it off and do all the fine and expensive medical thangs, but there really is no hope. Now, you just go on home and wait for this here biopsy, y'hear?" So, over the next TWO WEEKS I call them a couple of times. No word yet. I mention something about how the camel caravans must be getting stalled out of Ouagadougou because of the sandstorms and she says, "Uh-huh." Finally, I get an e-mail, the understandable portion of which went: Although atypical or dysplastic nevi and even some seborrheic keratoses and basal cell carcinomas as distinguished from melanoma via the technique of epiluminescence for Prognostic Factors as evidence of nodal metastases .. Long short, when you tell your blog you have cancer, something which I never thought I would do - oh, I figured I would get cancer all right but would certainly not tell the blog not after all the things I've said about people who do that - and then you end up not having it after all you kind of feel obligated to do an Emily Litella, you know .. never mind.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Post #2619. You need a grabber beginning. My new book came this morning, and I opened it to Page One just now. It didn't do anything for me. It seemed obvious that the author wadded up quite a few pieces of paper (or deleted a lot of lines) getting there. Oh, I know what it's all about, so it will deliver eventually. Got me to thinking though. You really do need a good start. Can’t beat It was the best of times, but that one is taken. So, I started with, Slow going only few blocks from home, the a full stop-and-go routine. Nope, not gonna let it bother me this morning. There will be peace and contentment throughout this vehicle. "Hear that boys?" I said, checking the three of them in the mirror. I needn't have worried. They were great car kids. A few slow minutes pass, then we come up on the problem. Not fifteen feet away on the right they are pulling the disaster of a former car out from under the rear end of the semi. Holy shit, the whole top of the car is missing. Also missing are the tops of the people who were in the front seat.That's as far as I've gotten. Next, we arrive at the park. With 100,000 other people. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Monday, September 10, 2012
Post #2618. Is this the end? It hasn't rained in Seattle for about 45 days. They say that will be changing very soon, perhaps tomorrow, with the "onshore push," "the low dipping down," whatever contrivance Mother Nature has planned for us this time. Good thing, because people are starting to get a little strange around here. Make that stranger. Some have started saying things, things just short of, "What if it never rains again.." See, they all love their Seattle weather, however much they complain about it. Without the relentless rain, we would just lay about in the sunny warmth and abuse all sorts of things we weren't meant to. The rain was responsible for grunge, all the music actually, Boeing, Nordstrom, Amazon, Microsoft. People would never have the ill will and grumpiness to get up at 3:30am to get to work in time to do London and Tokyo were it not for the perpetual gray and gloom. I stuck my head out the door a few minutes ago. A typical Sunday evening, like no one even lives around here but me. Dark as pure evil, first chill of the season, a nasty little breeze cutting corners. Spooky, headless horseman night. I love it. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Sunday, September 09, 2012
Post #2617. A pause for amazement. I do stop once in awhile, count blessings, and consider. Just finished the grocery order for Tuesday morning. With a few tiny movements of my hand, I selected all of this week's items and then proceeded to the payment page. Oh how nice - they already have my information entered so I don't even have to reach for my card. Just compare that with what it took my great-grandparents to do to fill a pantry. They were the last generation to farm. My mom was the last generation to push a cart. Me, I click, eat and surf weight-loss infomercials. A young man of my father's generation might have a wonder, then hop on his bike and go down to the modest library to look it up. Time: ~an hour. Distance: ~a mile each way. Probability of finding a concise answer: low. Me .. I groan if I have to get up and walk CLEAR across the room to do Google. If I can just get this network set up and use my smartphone, I won't ever have to get up. I can just search from over here to find weight-loss websites. What I need now is an app for that.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Friday, September 07, 2012
Post #2616. More stories from the front. Now, I certainly don't want to be unkind, but from what I'm told, this is pretty much what you settle for ..  .. if you can't land yourself a boy.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. RMacherat
Sunday, September 02, 2012
Post #2615. A sick story (it's very late) I told you I might come back and delete this one, and now I have. Since the googlebot saw it, however, I fear it may linger in their basement for eternity. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Saturday, September 01, 2012
Post #2614. 41... Imagine this: people who haven't been out of doors for fifty or sixty years without being clad head to toe in GORE-TEX® have suddenly taken to running around with scarcely nothing on! Grossest thing you've ever seen. Yes, it has failed to rain in Seattle for 41 days. Not a driz. I am not kidding - who would kid about such a thing? You practically need two pair of dark glasses, one for the great scary shiny thing and a second for the skin, all that blotchy rolling pasty blazing skin. I expect when this is ends, and it Will End, surely, that some new laws will be enacted without delay.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Post #2613. Trying it again today. I usually check back with Frank Pilhofer at this point. Like me, he never throws anything away. Neither does Daniel Boese, smartest man in Canada. Also, it has to be this time of night. Doesn't seem to work when the world is awake. The reason we're re-visiting is that I watched a program on Chaos the other night, dumbed down for us ordinary folks, of course, and I had a reverse one-of-those-moments. See, I want to believe there is some Reason for it all, but dang ... they seriously made some thoughtful points. Anyway, we know that our sun shoots out a trillion, trillion, trillion neutrino's every hour. Mark that number. Next, multiply it by 24, then 365. Next, add up the number of stars in the universe and multiply by that. Finally, multiply your result by d (or 3.15564768 x 10157; you know why,) where d comes from datapackrat, out of infinite respect. Finally, make a list to designate in three-dimensional space (while there still is space,) where each neutrino is. Sorry, was. Save. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Post #2612. And we're not that unusual. The lady had noticed that her dog was jumpy and cried a lot after returning from the groomers. A few days later she gave him a bath and, once wet, his ear came off and floated away. Yes, the groomer had accidentally cut it off and glued it back on. And the resolution: The groomer denied cutting off the dog's ear and couldn't be charged anyway because of "lack of evidence." She reportedly has left the dog-grooming business, and I do not want to know what she's doing now. Renting a tracking device for $5 saved the climbers on Mt. Hood this week. Some people, fed up with the cost and sheer annoyance of these constant rescues, want the trackers to be made mandatory for mountain climbing. Predictably, every mountain group in our region is against it, finding the idea insulting and comparing it to requiring Eagle Scouts to carry lighters. "Mountaineers pride themselves on their survival skills," was the quote. Yeah, until they get in trouble, then they squeal like baby piglets, along with the inevitable ready-for-television relatives. And from the weekly "Fat and Stupid" file: In a study by the Educational Policy Improvement Center as funded by the Washington Education Association (the teacher's union that strikes every year just as school starts) recommends a 45% increase in funding for state schools, to $11,200,000,000 a year. This is in response to the fact that nearly half of state students cannot even pass a standardized test. The thinking is that if we pay the teachers more, achievement will rise. This story ran just below: STATE TEENAGERS PART OF OBESITY EPIDEMIC. I know, if we pay school dietitians 45% more too, we can end teenage obesity at the same time. The debate goes on over the Payday Loan industry with no compromise in sight. The State is pushing more education, more oversight ... i.e., more state employees, while the Loan Shark Industry continues to plead poverty. The third party to the issue, sensible people, favor taking the Payday Loan scum out and shooting them. The 9-year-old kid who took Southwest Airlines flights out of here to go be with his grandpa in Texas, remember him? Managed to stow away, evade security? Twice? That's the one. He was placed under house arrest by the court while the matter is settled. The mother ignored that and took him to California to appear on the Dr. Phil Show. The prosecutor decided against a contempt citation and instead asked the mother to be mindful of the law, thus missing a perfect opportunity to throw the Problem into jail and let the poor kid get away. (1) Plans have moved ahead to construct a $500 million high-end residence and resort community on Rattlesnake Ridge*, just outside of Zillah. (2) The Everett city council voted 6-0 to give the go ahead to sell 200 acres of Snohomish riverfront property** to a San Diego developer for a $200 million upscale residential and retail development. If you ever needed evidence that real estate has gone completely mad, you have it. (*See: Aptly-named places.) (**See: Epic annual flooding.) "Stolen kidney found; suspect questioned and released." Let me guess, lack of evidence? Things did not used to be this stupid. Oh yes, there was stupid, but not every damned article every damned day in the local section. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Post #2611. Pressure. You've probably been able to tell that Googlebot has been coming around again. I shamelessly concocted some links to draw its attention. Now, I'm faced with the task of creating content to keep it satisfied. (Get used to this. The machines, you know.) The good part is that the Bot doesn't care about quality, just bytes. Bad part, you do. Sorry. My shows are winding down: Weeds, Breaking Bad, Suits. Cable has absorbed me more than OTA television ever did. Gosh, the last few years have been something else. Anyway, Walter shot Mike. I was sorry to see that, but it had to be. Great scene where the camera pulls away and we hear his body crumple to the ground. I could imagine many takes before they got that sound just right. It was important. Not many of us have heard it. Now the question is - Who Is Going To Kill Walter? It has to end that way, you know it. I figure Walter, Jr. He has been notably absent for the past few episodes, growing angrier and angrier, not understanding. He's going to find out, learn the whole story, be initially pleased at the enormous balls of the old man, then turn dramatically when he learns the cost. There will be a huge confrontation with all the players around the family pool, lots of guns drawn, everyone pointing at everyone else, then Walter Jr. will awkwardly (emphasized in excrutiating detail,) cross the patio, raise a .357 Magnum, and shoot his father somewhere where he doesn't die at once. We need the reaction in his eyes that let him win the Emmy. Walter falls; not in the pool as so many of the dead do, but sort of messily half in, half out. Blood spreads very slowly in the water. End. Cut scorching sunlight. That's how I have it figured.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Post #2610. Nothing New! No, I mean really, there is nothing new in the world anymore. Example .. I wrote the names of the main characters in my next story, Derrick and Faith Sphube, on Google and hit enter, expecting to get nothing. Zippo. I made the word up. Guess what? Over five-thousand hits for SPHUBE. All my creative energy just went out the window, lost at least for the day. I don't even know why I came in here; it isn't like you guys are going to get anything original now. The Internet. Even spell-checker encourages you to capitalize it. What a crock. If I could only get my extremely strong for my age hands and long fingers around the neck of Just One little puke hacker, oh how satisfying that would be. See, what I told you? Pitiful.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Post #2609. Some silliness. April 28, 2877 - (GPI) An Astro-Transit ship carrying 221,808 pax and a crew of 3 from Flaxtor to Norbunt has evidently hit a large rock while traveling near the midpoint of its journey at a velocity of 2308 light-years-per-hour. There was no search for survivors. According to authorities, there will be no inspection of wreckage. There will be no investigation. There will be no report. This is the last update the paper will be issuing on the matter.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Post #2608. 1%. Read about this woman in the Wikipedia article. What a life, huh? Liliane Bettencourt added another smarmy chapter to her story by signing over a couple of islands she owns in the Seychelles to Our Seas Foundation, a marine conservation group. Well, that was a good thing, wasn't it? Don't you suppose they do useful work? They paid her Sixty-million dollars for the islands. Oh. I guess at her age, she's 89, and with her net worth, she has $23,500,000,000, she wants to make sure there's enough to last.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Post #2607. Clinical Depression. Washing dishes at two in the morning, rolling over in your mind the bad things and what you should have done, should have said. "Yeah, that would have been perfect. Yeah, out loud, right in front of everyone. Asshole wouln't have had any comeback for that one, for sure." Dude, WTF!? As you talking about Loren? Dude's dead. Dead for years. Let it go, dude. When did Annoying Little Voice pick up this "dude" business anyway? Oh, I have good reason to be depressed. Besides everything else I haven't told you about, I have Stage IV Melanoma. That's what tonight's kitchen chat was about, remembering the doctor who gave me my sentence. It was his day off, and the main dermatologist was out of town, so they called him in to read me the results of my biopsy. Here's how the call went Me: So, I guess the results came in?The rest of the call, well, I'm a little ashamed of the bit of carrying on I accomplished in that part but, hey, it isn't every day you get that kind of news from the worst doctor in the world. I am confident he will remember the episode. Funny thing is .. I may be "depressed," but I'm certainly not unhappy. I enjoy everything I do. I have few regrets. Still, somehow doing dishes really late at night tends to bring the crap stuff up.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Post #2605. PAUL RYAN SHIRTLESS PICTURES HERE. I wanted to get this note up as soon as possible. I'll be posting pictures of Congressman Ryan shirtless as soon as I get some. I've written to him. Thanks for your patience.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Post #2604. Housekeeping. As a former Hotel employee, I got to thinking about bedspreads today. How often do you think hotels cleaned their bedspreads back in the days before the sheeting they use now? 1. Every dayIf you've been around this blog for awhile, you know what they answer is. Hint: They only buy enough bedspreads to have one for each bed. The rooms do feel clean, at least the nice ones do. The ladies work very hard, I can assure you of that. I've known a lot of them. I've even done quite a few rooms myself. These tended to be not so clean, sadly, as it usually involved an unusual situation. I was good at getting the Sanitized for Your Protection label in place convincingly. Anyway, one thing that makes me smile, thinking back - all the people who get naked and then sit, lie or play on the bed ... oblivious to the fact that only 63 minutes earlier, a suitcase from Shanghai airport was resting there. Better yet, the naked butt of the owner.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.Grand Âyatollâh Seyyed ‘Alî Hossaynî Khâmene’î President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad youtube silverlight paris hilton nuffnang re-publica sanjaya
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Post #2603. Teens. Listening to a little Oldies music tonight. As often happens, it took me away. Like "Teen Angel" .. oh my. Did you know that 31 girls committed suicide after that song was released? Did you know that you can make up any number of teenage girls' suicides during that time and have it accepted? Did you know that there is actually a field of study on this subject? They bring Durkheim in. Furthermore, did you know that Wikipedia even has a list, Teen Angel - Mark Dinning (1959) #1I don't mean to make light of this subject, because it really is serious and tragic. But when Wikipedia has a list, well, what's the use of having a blog anymore, huh? One thing I did notice is that the oldies music sounds a LOT better now than it did on a portable radio 45 years ago, and the people singing had much better voices than those presenting what passes for music today. There, I typed it and I'm not one bit sorry either.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Post #2602. My latest book. This will be my 45th book. You haven't seen any of them in the stores because I never finish one. I never even get beyond You have to start with a typical Texas summer morning that is going to get hot, hot like it doesn’t get anywhere else. Anywhere? Please. How about Africa? Delhi before the monsoon. Just wait, hang around San Antone, Waco for awhile, you’ll see. He was doing the most ordinary thing possible, walking into the Safeway, squinting to see at all for the blazing monster reflecting off everything, after an awful, terrible, the worst week, just wanting to buy any drink that was relatively cool and cheap. That’s all. But no, it wasn’t going to be that simple, was it? Getting fucking shot at 7:30 in the morning and having that not even be the worst of it.Don't say it. I know. It's just that I bought a book today and it started off so fine and I so want to be able to do that. Dang. I should take out that word. Too soon. My dad told me always to be spare with the curse. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Post #2601. Cut/Paste. .. went on to provide details of the program. Initially, teams of cyclists from Seattle would collect the water from rain barrels of participating families, then transport it in relays across the Cascade mountains. Upon arrival in the Boise area a day or two later, the water would be collected at a central distribution center. Plans have yet to be worked out on the means of delivering it to local property owners as there are not large numbers of cyclists in this area. Once this is finalized however, the water can be applied to the designated growths of sagebrush in the hopes of renewing .. some real strange and filthy searches with speling errors - I typed that in Google just for any bored guys working late night and watching the scroll. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Post #2600. Technology. It seems much easier to get annoyed with people on the telephone these days. Maybe because you get an image of a sullen, disinterested loser sitting in a soulless call center, dreaming of another job, just about any job but this one. I can't fault them for that, but I want to know what time my new washing machine is going to be delivered tomorrow. Took me about 32 seconds to start raising my voice and getting sarcastic. Yes sir. It says here that your washing machine delivery was changed to Monday because it was out of stock. Yes, I knew that; if it had already been delivered I would have it and we wouldn't be talking about deliveries, right? Okay, out of line, I admit it. But I was only getting ahead for once. I knew where this call was going. The same way I could "see" him in his cubicle, I could "hear" him after hanging up from my call and before answering the next one: Asshole. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Post #2599. The Long, Long Exaweek. Wednesday, August 17, 2011I wanted to share this (again) because it is the sort of thing that puts me in a Time Mood where I can (try and) think far-out stuff. Like that post awhile back which I've got to get back to and make more sensible. Also, Daniel mentioned that he was the only person in electrons to use the word "exaweek." I searched Google, and he still was. Of course, I always have to correct Google: NO, Google, please pay attention, -"exam week". Wish they would personalize their fancy schmancy algorithms a little more, short of draining my life energy and stealing everything I have, that is, e.g., Rick wants exactly what he typed, nothing more or less. Oh, they're evil all right; they just think we're too dumb to realize it yet. By the way, remember googlewhack? I got up to 7th in the world and stayed there quite awhile until I realized it was devouring my life. Just think how many points you could run up with exaweek. Two of us now. * Yes, for the many readers who may have noticed, this was a re-run. It was about to scroll of the current page into nothingness, i.e., archives. Again.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Post #2598. From other thoughts. I was looking at paper towels on the Staples site. When I've run out of places to find something, Staples often has it. If only I would remember to look there first. Not important. Anyway, Eighty-eight people took the time to write a review of the paper towels. Can you believe it? Furthermore, I took the time to read some of them, first the good, then the most favored of the bad. Yes, they rated them. All in all, buying paper towers from Staples is about a 30% risky idea. Stick with WalMart. (I suspect they write their own reviews anyway.) I other shopping news, I bought some 3XL T-shirts somewhere online. I like them very large so when they shrink they remain roomy. I am not really a 3XL. However, that purchase put me on one of those amazing new lists as a fatty, so I now get several catalogs devoted to Things for the Fat. I don't mind all that much to be honest as some of the items are pretty interesting. Take this camping chair:  Now, I wouldn't have thought that eight-hundred pound people went camping, but evidently thay do. Enough of them, in fact, that a market is emerging for things they need for such an activity. How about these days, huh? Eight-hundred pound people at the campground.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Post #2597. The tsunami. Most people don't realize just what a disaster the rubble from last year's Japan earthquake and tsunami is going to make for the west coast. We recognized it at once - after all, who hasn't picked up a sake bottle fish float on Washington's coast? Also, our last Big One caused a tsunami to hit their coast 312 years ago. By "we," I means people who live in Washington and Oregon for the most part, a goodly number of whom are going nutso over this,  plus the rest of us who will fret a lot but not do anything. Maybe in the long run if and after we clean it up, attention will turn to the monstrous garbage dump in the North Pacific generally. The other day, an article in the paper reported a study which claimed children of older fathers lived longer. Another study published today claims that children of older fathers are more likely to develop Alzheimer's Disease. Quite a double dose of news for today's FICA generation, huh? Finally, in today's adoption column, Annie was the child of the week. I'd love to show her picture, but you'll have to use your imagination. The pitch said, "Patient, acccepting and nurturing mom and dad who can provide a stable, consistent, secure environment with clear rules and expectations and willing to participate in family counseling." Translation: This kid is a hellion. Please take her while we still have a building and anyone left working here!!Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Post #2596. News from Los Angeles. A pair of lungs was found on a sidewalk in Los Angeles today. An LAPD spokeswoman stated that as far as she knew, this was the first set of lungs found on a sidewalk in the city. (It was not immediately ascertained whether lungs had been found elsewhere, such in the street, up trees, etc.) Elsewhere, the Tahoma School District changed its hours. This is Tahoma, not Tacoma. Tahoma is located closer to the boonies and is named for what the Original Peoples really called Mt. Rainier, just so you know. Anyway, they're going to dismiss school 90 minutes early on Fridays next academic year to give teachers Professional Development Time. Friday afternoons. Professional Development Time. Yeah right. How about Get Out of Town and Beat the Traffic on Weekends Time? Speaking of the boonies, the state plans to pave the road which leads to the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River. You'll remember this one - it floods first. Some people have already registered objections concerning a feared influx of urbanites, city folk. Probably not unlike the objections (which weren't registered) by the locals (Indians) when we built the existing road. This paving job will take about two years. Interesting. I was watching a program on the building of the Alcan highway during the early part of World War Two. Didn't take two years before the first trucks were rolling through. Transcontinental railroad neither, though that one was interrupted by a war.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day. Gabriel Macht
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Post #2595. A transit of Venus. Imagine. Tuesday's transit is only the eighth since the invention of the telescope and the last until December 10-11, 2117. I didn't see it. 
We need to talk about this.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Post #2594. An aberrant right subclavian artery. You can find anything on the Internet. I could stay out there forever. Anyway, The aberrant right subclavian artery frequently arises from a dilated segment of the proximal descending aorta, the so-called Diverticulum of Kommerell. Would that make a terrific location for a sci-fi story or what? The leader, or Diverticulus would be a very scary individual indeed. How to get drugs before Medicare Part D: See doctor. Get prescription. Go to drug store. Get drugs. How to get drugs after Medicare Part D: See doctor. Write to insurance company. Read reply: Thank you for your online inquiry. I will be glad to review the status of your order. I apologize that the Medco Pharmacy cannot make changes to the prescription, as it is an automated process. If the name, telephone number, or fax number of your physician has changed, a new prescription will be required. Please submit your new prescription to Medco Health Solutions of Dallas P.O. Box 650322 Dallas, TX 75265-0322 If mailing, please enclose a note stating your member number, patient name and date of birth, physician name and phone number, your current mailing address and daytime phone number or download a Medco Pharmacy order form by following this link: http://www.medco.com and once you have logged in, selecting "Forms" or "Forms and cards" from the menu in the left hand side of the page. If you would prefer to have your prescription faxed to us, please have your physician's office call 1-888-327-9791 to request a fax form and receive instructions on our fax procedure. Depending on how your order was received, please allow: 7-11 calendar days for mailed new prescriptions 5-8 calendar days for faxed in prescriptions by the physician 6-9 calendar days for mailed in refill slips 3-5 calendar days for phoned in refills or online orders ** This excludes Sundays and holidays. ** To receive medication before your order arrives, please contact your physician for a short term 14 day supply. To view drug coverage and pricing online, please follow this link: http://www.medco.com and once you have logged in, select "Price a medication" from the menu in the left hand side of the page. Type in the name of the necessary medication, choose the appropriate medication strength, enter the necessary quantity for your daily use, in the Calculate pricing for retail field, please enter the number of day you will need for your short term supply and click submit. Please remember you cannot exceed a 14 day supply locally while a 90 day supply is in process. Plan limitations or quantity restrictions may apply. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns. Have a great day. Elliot B.Call up great-grandson to have him explain reply. Think it over. Give up.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Post #2593. From the mouths .. While walking the aisles in our lovely Safeway, recently remodeled, I spotted a couple of customers who were very much unlike the usual folks who shop there. A young couple, very cute, who anyone would guess had to be newlyweds. They were completely wrapped up in each other, having a wonderful time. Not a pda at all, just absorbed in themselves and oblivious to the world around. While they inspected each item carefully, they had only one thing in the cart, some produce I think. I went on to the pharmacy. About twenty minutes later, I saw them again on the way out. Same behavior, but now they had two things in the cart, a jar of something. So cute. I sure would like to watch them do it. To the topic .. the lad was trying to be good as he sat with his parents, listening to the very, very famous person speak. No one paid attention to his squirming anyway, enraptured as they were by voice of the speaker. He did go on and on, but they loved it. What happened next, who would have ever imagined, the boy stood straight up and exclaimed loudly, Maaaaa! Oh, Maaaaa, that sonofabitch is stark-fucking nekkid! The very next morning, our economy completely collapsed.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Post #2592. The American Express card. I got my first one when I was twenty-two, couldn't wait to use it and have the swiper say, "Oooo, an American Express card. You must be important or rich or both." Nobody said that. Nor did they ever say it when I upgraded to the Gold card at around age twenty-eight. Finally, I got the PLATINUM CARD, and again I was fairly young. No one ever noticed, nor did they comment that I must be well-to-do since I could afford a couple of hundred dollar membership just for a card I use twice a year (once to pay the dues and once when I remembered to use it.) Does this sound pretty stupid, so far? Yeah, I think so too. Obviously, I have long-since given up the silliness and only carry a good old green card in case I'm ever in Mongolia and need some help. Never contemplated The Black, but I understand the thinking of people who do. Besides, American Express makes sure you have money before they issue that one. I'm writing this today because the bill just came. Zero starting balance, zero charges, zero due. If I figure right, that's about the 540th monthly bill they've sent me, and they are getting more and more sloppy-looking every year. This one was ten pages long! Of course, you have to wade all the way through the damned thing to make sure your card number isn't on any of the pages before discarding it without shredding. Is that annoying enough to justify however long it took to type this? Yes, I think so. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Post #2591. Speaking of aiming .. One day I said to my college roommate, Watch this, bet I can bounce it out, whereupon I tossed a Q-tip in the wastebasket. It stayed in. Again. After awhile, we made it interesting: I was to receive $25 each time I bounced one out and he the same when I didn't. Huge money for us in those days when we might budget $100 for "other" to last an entire semester. We kept it up. Finally, he said, I gotta get going, man. Got accepted for grad school, North Dakota State. I owed him a little under four million dollars. The years passed. With his Ph.D. and my annual payment, he's done well. Me, not so good. About half my annual pay at the rendering plant goes for the bet. I still toss Q-Tips and, funny thing, I never think about the bet until the danged thing bounces out of the trash can. Every time. Every goddamned time for the last forty-three years. This week, I started wrapping a piece of two-sided tape around the device and sticking it to the very bottom of the wastebasket. The wife takes care of it. She hasn't asked. She knows me. At last a little peace.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Post #2590. Aim effectively. When I have to shoot somebody, I always aim for the face. Since I'm a very good shot, the face is where I hit. If you wing an assailant in the arm or leg, chances are they'll keep coming, oblivious to the injury. This is especially true if they are drughappy or just rage-crazed. The face shot will stop them cold if it doesn't kill them on the spot, and sometimes you'll get a very surprised, Hey! You shot me in the face! Of course, that usually comes out, Ayumpf. Oo wot e unna waaas! or some other hilarious variation. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Post #2589. So .. this is how it starts. I stood at the open refregerator, certain for a change of why I was there. It's Sunday, time to prepare my grocery list. Scanning the fairly empty shelves, I made a mental note of what was needed. Easy .. I'm so good at shoplisting, I marveled at myself, Hold on, wot's dis? It was the bottle of olive oil. Seems I put the olive oil in the icebox after using it with the fish & chips. Now I'm not even sure we had fish & chips. I guess we need to record this date, 20 May 2012, as when it began, the senility. (Uh, not to alarm you or anything, but we recorded the date some time ago. Years actually.) Oh. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Post #2588. Next Tactic. I covered a Glue Board with a piece of saran wrap, and I'm going to put it out tonight with a sample of something delicious right in the middle. Now, the mice communicate among themselves, I'm certain of that now, so they know to avoid the glue boards. I'm betting that the smell will be so inviting that one of them may test with his little rat pinkie and discover, "'Allo, wot's dis?" - it isn't sticky anymore! I'll let this go on for a few nights, allowing them to feast on their lovely new banquet table, then WHAMMO, I'll replace the harmless board with one fairly oozing with the strongest grade professional hellish rat-trapping glue I can come up with. I actually got the idea while making copies of glue boards. Since the mice/rats avoid them maybe, I thought, they might avoid a copy that had a little glue board smell wiped on it. Worth a try and cheaper than the boards which I'm using up in vast numbers. Catching mice?. Sadly no. Catching brother and me. We'll not talk about that just now. Making the copy was odd, since the machine copied all the bits of hair, dust and who knows what else that was on the thing. Realistic enough that I didn't want to touch it - just a piece of paper. I'll let you know how it turns out. Well, maybe I will and maybe we won't be talking about this either. Incidentally, after about ten years and thousands of posts, mostly short, and over 20,000 visits that were probably not me, no one has ever read the advisory at the very bottom of the page. Which is just more proof that people don't have time to be bothered with reading s*** anymore. (I was thinking s*** but just didn't feel like going crass tonight.) Anyway, tomorrow I'll post a copy of my Privacy Policy - the only thing keeping the U.S. Postal Service alive. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Post #2587. Rats. They're probably just mice, smart nasty fat mice. I've gone totally Willard on this, and they're enjoying it. One disturbing thing I've figured out: when they leave droppings, they think it's a gift. Like they're thanking me for all the food they find. It's hard to imagine where they are finding anything to eat or drink, what with the way I've locked up this fortress. It is also a little puzzling to realize they like this little game, especially when I kill a few of them.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Post #2586. How about a little Canadian television? They don't bother with objectivity in their comedy or news (I have to tell you, it is not always clear which one you are watching.) Now, almost everyone in Canada is Liberal, and that is the only sensible and fair position, yet they keep electing Conservatives somehow. Is it just for the comedy? Hard to say. We don't understand that country at all. Just when you think there is something there, they go and disappoint you with that cold, blank look. Very nice people, otherwise, don't get me wrong. They've been running an announcement about hockey. It seems that upcoming broadcasts will be available in Punjabi. The move is evidently important enough that the entire CBC is promoting it numerous times each day. I would not have guessed any of this. When we think of the Punjab, we in North America think of the Sikhs because so many of them have come here. I used to think it was so they could be found in a phone book, but that doesn't work anymore either. I saw a commercial (back in US now) for a Chevy Volt. The owner said, "I like my car because it's stylish and it makes a statement." This was a man speaking, an actual man from the year 2012. Later, I saw a commercial for the "all new Buick Verano." I would not kid you; Buick, of the Roasmaster, Super and Riviera is building a thing called Verano. It will look like every other car, of course, and have all the same features and equipment. What will set it apart and become its signature is .. The Verano. Just feel how the classy name massages the mouth. True afficionados will rolllll the "r" ever so slightly when ordering it from the valet. And yes, you can be sure that Verano owners will not hesitate to have their car parked and then retrieve it shamelessly, because it is 2012 now. I thought that it was an invented word and was surprised that something so common had not been taken for a product yet. Not so, Verano is actually a real word, Spanish for "summer." Keen. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Post #2585. The other neighbors. Mrs. Cleese lives a few houses down with her two children. The son is about twelve, and his name is Corcoran, so-named beause that's where his father was when he was born. Despite the spotty parenting, he seems like a nice boy. The baby girl's name is Velveeta. Mrs. Cleese named her that because she was extremely pissed at being knocked-up again just before Mister Cleese was headed back to prison. That's how she explained it to me anyway. Grandma Cleese warned her not to name the child Velveeta, but Mrs. Clees is very headstrong. I know. She's my neighbor. I predict little Velveeta will also turn out to be pretty assertive. Corcoran asked if he could mow my lawn for some extra money. I'm "thinking it over." If I pay him too little, he may have me killed. Too much and he'll think there's money here and rob and kill me in the night. Then again, he may just mow the lawn like any regular kid, and not even steal anything. I like to be fair. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Post #2584. Dark dimension solved. It turns out that gravity works exactly the same in the fifth dimension as it does in the other four. The key to understanding this is to view the Higgs Boson. Unfortunately, we cannot. That's because the Higgs is the only object comfortable in all five dimensions as it moves freely among them, affected only by being detected. It reacts to this, or even the anticipation of this, by leaving. Leaving? To where? Elsewhere. That's the trick. Not until we conquer and capture a Higgs will we be able to see the fifth dimension, use dark matter and burn dark energy. This may happen sooner than we expect.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Post #2583. I'll keep doing it. Just today, we were both reminded .. well, here it is anyway. So Seattle. He's a little lumpy, she's lovely and smitten. It's raining, and who cares.  This photograph was taken by Seasun. He takes a lot of them, and they're all here. You'll want to click on this one to enlarge it. Like I said, So Seattle, So Perfect. Huh? You'd have to live here, really. About the archives. My "dashboard," or whatever Blooger is calling it these days, was put together by me Before the War even. So much has happened, including my mental decline. I don't dare touch it to add "Access Archives." The one time I did, the little gray word, Comments, grew to a size 72 font and stayed that way for a month. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Post #2582. The Lecture. Saw an ad for Lint Lizard on the television set, went to Amazon to check it out. Wow, the power of the Internet. Turns out the product doesn't work at all, and the poor folks who bought one have plenty to say about it. Usually, no matter how great the item is, there will always be one or two poor souls who just couldn't figure it out or are plain unlucky. This time it was almost everyone. What would my existence today be without Amazon? Well, for starters your house wouldn't look like a future episode of Hoarders. Ha-ha very funny. Feeling silly late last night, wrote this song or the beginning of one anyway Sittin' outside the church in my coar late one evenun'Working on a melody tonight, but I keep getting drifts of Buffett in my head. So inappropriate. I'll keep you posted if I get something. And then this. And the task of the manager living in that environment is more and more trying to put .. here is the situation that I have or a conversation that I had about a particular issue, here are some important facts and kind of my theory right now on that, and you're continuously doing that, you know. What we do with another classic case, and what we try to communicate to students to work on, one is undergraduate MBA's, you know, the Executive Education; the other is General Management. There are general managers out there today who literally do not, you know, they're still playing it as a spectator sport and not as a participatory sport. They're leaving it all to their "tech guy." Oh yeah. The Chinese had better keep on their toes - here we come! Maybe this verse could go before the other one. Alternatively, after he's bailed out We livin' in a '67 single-waadRick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Post #2581. Cable today. Incidentally, in an example of just how good Google is, I did a search for Farad Zakamea since I had only the vaguest idea of the spelling. Google immediately suggested Fareed Zakaria. I wondered just how far off I could type before it failed and tried several ridiculous entries. It wasn't until I morphed the last name into Hawaiian with a lot of humununu's that It gave up. Anyway, our man, Fareed Zakaria, was doing his show from Davos (losing quite a few people already) with guests Wadah Khanfar and Kishore Mahbubani. They were talking about what fabulously rich and enormously powerful men hanging out in Switzerland talk about, money and politics, I think. Strangely, even with all this, CNN's U.S. ratings continue to suffer somewhat. In the meantime, Fox was covering a two-hour car chase.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Post #2580. Uh ... Google? Just a note for you, bot, that exaweek and all the rest of it belongs to datapakrat at this place, not me. Thanks for your continued attention.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Post #2579. Monkeys. Remember when Bob Newhart did that bit about the monkeys, where they conducted an experiment placing an infinite number of monkeys at an infinite number of typewriters to see if they would eventually create all the Great Books? Remember that? Maybe not - it was 1961 after all. Pretty funny bit though. Anyway, I ran across something interesting today, at least I thought so,  this label attached to something I received. Looks to me like one of the machines was trying to tell the joke to some other machines. Once it fell flat, they just stuck it on packages and sent them along.Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Post #2578. The 520. From 11pm until 5am, traveling across the Governor Albert D. Rossellini Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, also known as State Route 520 and also known as “Victory at Sea,” is free. Tolls begin at 5am and are charged at $1.60 for vehicles bearing a “Good-to-Go” transponder sticker and $3.10 for all others. These are billed by mail with the addresses derived from their photo-scanned license plate numbers. The first toll lasts for one hour. At 6am, the Good-to-Go rate rises to $2.80, and the general toll increases to $4.30. Again, this level lasts for one hour. For two hours beginning at 7am, the toll increases to $3.50 for Good-to-Go vehicles and $5.00 or all others. At the end of the primary rush period, the toll falls to $4.30 for regular vehicles and $2.80 for Good-to-Go stickers. This shoulder rate lasts for one hour until the official end of rush. The normal traffic rate comes into play at 10am and lasts for four hours. This rate is $2.25 for Good-to-Go vehicles and $3.75 for all others. The start of evening rush is at 2pm, at which time the toll rises again to $4.30 for regular traffic and $2.80 for Good-to-Go traffic. This is in place for one hour when it rises to $5.00 and $3.50 respectively. This evening peak toll lasts for three hours, until 6pm when it falls to $4.30 for general traffic and $2.80 for Good-to-Go. Another adjustment comes into play at the end of peak when the toll falls to $3.75 for general traffic and $2.25 for Good-to-Go vehicles. This lasts for one hour. At 9pm, the toll falls again, to $3.10 for regular traffic and $1.60 for Good-to-Go. At 11pm onward, there is no toll until 5am when the rates begin again. Weekend rates are completely different. At 5am, the Good-to-Go toll begins at $1.10 and .. all the other times and tolls vary from the weekday schedule. These tolls support the upcoming construction of a new Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, as yet unnamed. The new bridge will cost approximately Four And One-Half Billion Dollars and replaces the existing 50-year-old span which, unfortunately, did not have an HOV lane. Paradoxically, since the tolls went into effect, traffic has declined so dramatically that it may be possible to use a single lane for vehicles and develop the now unnecessary two additional ones for parks and recreation. FROM: Your Government at Work for YouRick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Post #2577. Employee-of-the-Month Trifecta. The Boeing Company manufactures the 737 at Renton, Washington in a process that involves integrating thousands of parts from all over the world. One such part, a doorhandle that was made in the U.K came complete with flaws that caused Boeing to reject $200,000 worth of them every year. An engineer, Fred Siebert, redesigned the part so it could be manufactured locally, had zero defects, had three parts instead of fourteen, and could be assembled by a local company which employs people with disabilities in sheltered workshops. Now, almost no one reads this blog, but it does get searched by the Bot, so here's one more vote in the -verse for Fred Siebert as Employee of the Month! Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Post #2576. 2012 is looking good I drop things all the time. One of the downsides that comes with getting old. I don't get upset by it anymore, just part of the added cost for being here. Pills are great for dropping. I just kick them over to the edge of the kithen by the trash and pick them all up every few weeks. Yeah, that's what it comes to. Oh, there are a whole lot more slobby things to which life is reduced, but you don't want to know about all of them. Anyway, today I was filling tonight's vitamin cups for Brother and me, 8 for him, 7 for me, and a 400mcg Folic Acid tab (I forget what they're good for,) slipped from my fingers, fell, hit and bounced off a D3 in my cup, went straight up about six inches and fell right into Brother's cup where it belonged. I take this as an excellent omen for the year 2012, at least up to December 21st when all bets are off for everybody. Rick Macherat Rick M. In the day.
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