Voter Urine

I got my new Voter ID in the mail the other day, so I guess I'm not going to be purged. Their accompanying letter indicated that it's permanent. Then on Wednesday, I went to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) License Division and got my new Driver's License. Again, I was very impressed with theìr efficiency and how really nice they were. No one had that "clerk" attitude; you know, the one where you're lucky they would take a minute of their time to do their job? As usual, the picture is terrible (brace yourselves) but no one ever sees it anyway (except you guys). It's good until 2020, if I'm still here.

When I picked up my glasses last week, they had forgotten to put in the Transition Lenses. Transition Lenses are the ones that turn dark when you go out into the sun. I went back on Saturday and waited while they put them in. The only problem with Transition Lenses, is when you get into your car, the lenses quickly revert to clear. It kind of destroys the whole purpose.

Le Tour de France is over. The last day was all I could have hoped for and more. For the first time, A brit won the Tour and a Brit was second. Icing on the cake was that the final stage was won by another Brit, Mark Cavendish, who has been called the fastest man in the world (the biking world, of course), and he certainly lived up to his title. To make the day really perfect, the TV shots of Paris were simply spectacular. If you missed it, you should look for it on You Tube. You won't be sorry.

Rare Film: Claude Monet at Work 

FDA approves first preventative HIV drug 

Spider-Man is Real—And He is French!

How artificial intelligence will shape our lives

Netherlands: Catholic Church ‘castrated boys as gay cures and punishments’ 

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot. And then once it was full it was taken and sold to the tannery... if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor". But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...They "didn't have a pot to piss in" and were the lowest of the low.

Dumb Law of the Week: In Quitman, Georgia it is illegal for a chicken to cross the road.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Strange Lenses

It's strange how, as you get older, things that never used to even phase you become major annoyances.  It's a trend with which I'm not at all happy, but I'm finding it difficult to reverse it.  Maybe it's the accumulation of crap over the years.  It builds up and builds up, until it finally reaches your tolerance level, and sub-consciously, you say, "Enough is enough!"  Still, it's not something about which I'm happy and I would like to get back to the days when I just let it (supposedly) roll off my shoulders.

I got my new glasses on Friday.  The lenses are new,, but I just had them put into the old frame because I really like it and I couldn't see paying for a new one which would have been basically the same.  The new lenses are strange.  If I look to either side, things get very distorted.  I was pre-warned that that would be the case, so I was kind of expecting it, but it's still difficult to get used to.  The main thing is that now, when I watch Le Tour de France, I can actually see everything!  I didn't realize how much I had been missing until now.

Fast Food Restaurants fundraising for Mitt Romney and other Republicans:
Chick-fil-a  (Also donated to anti-gay groups), Hardee's, McDonald's, Outback Steakhouse, PapaJohn's, Waffle House, White Castle

Natural Alzheimer’s Protection  

Breakthrough molecule makes your teeth ‘cavity-proof’  

It's not lunacy: Not-a-planet Pluto boasts 5 moons  

What Really Happens When You Get Sucked Out of an Airlock  

Japanese group transmits electricity through 4-inch concrete block, could power cars on roads  

Dumb Law of the Week:  In Florida, Women may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer, as can the salon owner.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Designer Rides

After depositing my Humana check, I walked down the block to Chic Optique to check their prices for the glasses I need to get. They are in a gay shopping center, so I expected their prices to be higher than elsewhere, but I was surprised to learn that it wasn't all that much more. While checking the various frame styles, I was struck by the fact that I could not distinguish the difference between "designer" glasses and the 'generic' kinds. Also, once I started thinking about it, I'm positive that Versace, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, et al, did not sit around their mansions one day and think, "Wow, I should put out a line of frames for glasses." You can bet some frame manufacturer got the brilliant idea to use 'designer' names for the soul purpose of extracting large sums from their customers.

We've been thoroughly enjoying the 2012 Tour de France. We're not as interested in the actual race as we are the shots of the beautiful French countryside. If you've never been to Europe, I recommend watching the race for the fantastic shots of the European countryside. I know it's Le Tour de France, but so far they have ridden in at least three countries including Belgium, Switzerland and France. One thing that really bothers me though: I simply cannot believe the utter stupidity of some of the Tour de France spectators who run out onto the road in front of the riders!! Or the ones who crowd the road or try to run alongside the riders. What the hell are they thinking? The Tour security people need to take action before one or more of the riders is seriously injured by one of these jerks!

They're so far ahead of the US! Europride

   

Congress to rule pizza sauce is a vegetable 

  

Scientists reach “holy grail” of tissue engineering 

  

Spain leads quest to the sun

   

New mind-reading technique could help the paralyzed speak

   

Buy an entire Tuscan village on eBay for €2.500.000

Dumb Law of the Week: In Columbus, Georgia it is illegal to sit on one's porch in an indecent position.

À la prochaine, mes amis

Snail Mail

On Monday, Robb got a first-hand lesson on why sending stuff through the post office is called "snail mail". Last September, he sent a check to his bank in Paris. Afterwards, he realized it had insufficient postage (thanks to another rate hike in postage). It was returned on Monday. Will someone please explain 1-why it even left the country in the first place and 2-why didn't the French Poste just deliver it instead of waiting nine months to return it? Snail mail indeed!!!

BJs is a wholesale club where you can purchase a variety of things in huge quantities for a very low price. If you're a single person, you don't have to buy huge quantities, you can buy smaller amounts and still pay a lower price than you would at, say, your local supermarket. Of course, unless you receive an invitation to check it out, you must first purchase a "membership", yes, I deliberately covered the picture (you can thank me later).  You pay a price, somewhere around forty or fifty dollars, for the privilege of shopping at BJs. But our experience has been that we usually save more than that every time we shop there, so we think it's well worth the cost. On cava alone, we save about $40 per month. BJs sends a booklket of savings coupons each month. In this month's booklet, there was a coupon for Magnum White. We paid less than twice as much and got three times as much. Not to mention, we now know where to go to get our supply of Magnum White without having to special order at a higher price from our local Publix market.

Has anyone seen the Exxon/Mobil commercial about how they raised the test scores for math and science in six cities in the US? Want to know how they did it? They cheated! The teachers actually changed the answers so that the students would pass the tests with better grades. Of course, I'm not saying you can't trust one of the major oil companies in the world.

Paris Pride 2012 Pics

Mysterious Fairy Circles Are 'Alive' 

AIR.U to connect universities with “Super Wi-Fi”

Statue of Liberty at Musée d'Orsay, Paris

The ‘city of tomorrow’ is here (and it’s in Canada)

Dumb Law of the Week: In Connecticut: You can be stopped by the police for biking over 65 miles per hour.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Input Change

So finally, after three service calls, of which we only had to pay for one, the AC is (hopefully) fixed. Bob, the AC guy, cleaned out the runoff line and installed an input line so we can add a cup of bleach every month or so. We had that before and I'm pretty sure the lack of it was the major cause of our current problem. I guess in a month or so, we'll see if I was right.

Walking around the hall today, I made an unhappy discovery. Not only have I gotten older...I've also gotten grouchy, cynical and very negative. I am going to work on reversing that trend! Once, many years ago, a friend said to me, "I don't know anyone who doesn't like you!" I wonder what she would say if she knew me now?

Gay Conservative Group Endorses Romney....GOProud, the group that represents gay conservatives and their allies, announced its endorsement of Mitt Romeny for president, saying that, “The truth is that gay people are living in the disastrous failed Obama economy too.” And here I was believing that gay people were among the brightest. I don't care what you may think of Presixdent Obama, there's just no way an intelligent gay person can even think of voting for Mitt Romney or any other Republican given their current attitude toward the GLBT community.

Boy, does France need THIS!!! AI can resolve customer complaints 

Start-up teaches foreign languages, translates the Web

Light up seesaw

Make way for renewable energy’s Blade Runner

T-Rex breaches U.S. borders

Phase change memory breakthrough could lead to gigahertz-plus data transfers, make SSDs seem pokey

10-year-old cracks science puzzle and co-authors paper

Dumb Law of the Week: In California: Community leaders passed an ordinance that makes it illegal for anyone to try and stop a child from playfully jumping over puddles of water.

À la prochaine, mes amis

Shingle Eyes

I was checking places on the internet last week when I noticed that the new Bier Garden on Wilton Drive has a two-for-one special on Tuesdays. We got there shortly after 21h00 and found the place nearly empty. There weren't many tables inside, but we found one that wasn't too close to the five blaring TVs showing various sports. The waiter brought us a menu which we could barely see because there were no lights in the section in which we were sitting. But it didn't really matter because the waiter came back and told us the kitchen was already closed. We decided we would go to Cafe Seville. We were met by the owner who told us the kitchen was already closed. We came home and ordered a pizza from Domino's. Apparently, they weren';t very busy either because the guy showed up in less than twenty minutes. The pizza was one of the best we've ever gotten from Domino's.

A new development in the Shingles Saga: I have flunked my driver license eye test! I believe I mentioned that the shingles was affecting the area around my eye. Well, apparently, it is also affecting my vision. Now, I have to go to an eye doctor, have my eyes examined and get the doctor to complete a form the Bureau of Licenses gave me that indicates that my vision is correctable. So today or tomorrow, I will go to Sears in the Broward Mall where my neighbor Dave is the Optometrist. UPDATE: I saw Doctor Dave today, and he told me my eyes aren't anywhere near as bad as I thought they were. On top of that, the shingles aren't causing any problems at all

Saturday night, we had my birthday dinner at Cafe Seville. Robb had a veal dish and I had yellowtail snapper. It was almost finished before I became accustomed to the taste. It wasn't bad, just not something I was expecting, or used to eating. On their online menu page, the showed they had a spanish cava, but the waiter told us they had changed the menu since then and we drank an Italian sparkling wine. As we usually do, we ended up with a conversation with the waitress, whose husband was born and raised in France. He, too, joined us and the four of us talked for quite a while.

Could aliens have created life on Earth?

A Star System 12.9 Billion Light Years Away is the New Most Distant Galaxy

Landmark microbiome study surprises and redefines health

European Extremely Large Telescope 

Austria’s UNESCO heritage Hallstatt village in the south of China

Vodafone creates a signal-boosting, solar-charging umbrella to juice your cellphone 

A sugar fuel cell to power prosthetics 

Dumb Law of the Week: In Arkansas: A man can legally beat his wife, but no more than once a month. !

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Video Advertising

I'm sure I've mentioned here several times that I don't watch TV because of all the commercials, and because my hearing isn't so good and I need to turn the sound too high. Two channels I do watch are MSNBC and CNN because, although it's possible to find them online, they're usually just segments and not the full show. I watch everything else on my PC at either Project Free TV, or TV Links. My PC has a 22-inch screen which is a nice size for watching shows and movies. But one day it hit me....why don't I just hook up my laptop to the TV and watch that way? It's not involved and only requires an HDMI cable. So that's what I've been doing for the past week or so. The other night, we again watched "Midnight In Paris", the fantastic Woody Allen movie with probably the best shots of Paris I've ever seen in a movie.

I want to thank the people of Wisconsin for once again proving me correct when I wrote: There cannot possibly be a dumber animal on the face of the earth than a Republican!

Someone seriously needs to do something about the amount of commercials appearing in videos on the internet. If you confront the maker of the video, they deny it's their doing. If you confront Google or You Tube (one and the same) they claim it's the person who made the video. Whoever it is NEEDS to STOP NOW!!!!!

Saturday was an eventful day for us. First, the brand new A/C decided to go south around 20h00. Thankfully, it was relatively cool, so with the ceiling fans going, we slept okay. I called the A/C guy first thing on Sunday. Then, I was channel surfing and I came across a Haitian channel broadcasting in French (channel 578) which was showing a concert by one of our favorite French singers, Francis Cabrel. Sadly, we only got to see him perform two songs, but that was more than we ever expected to see in South Florida.

Bob, the A/C guy called first thing Monday morning and showed up around noon.  The problem turned out to be a plug that automatically turns off the air conditioner when the water backs up, thus preventing your place from being flooded.  He showed us how to take care of it ourselves and didn't charge us for the visit.

If You Kill Someone, Don’t Google How to Do It First

Plants may be able to 'hear' others 

Poppies make more than opium

It exists! A bed that makes itself

Dumb Law of the Week: In California, it is illegal to use underwear as rags!

À la prochaine, mes amis.

C'est Possible

We're trying to get our trip going in spite of the problems we've lately encountered. In addition to apartment prices rising unbelievably high, we've never had so much trouble putting a trip together. The latest blow came when the owner of the apartment we wanted to rent in Paris, informed us that it wouldn't be available for the time we had chosen. The good news is that there are beaucoup apartments available in France. We may have to pay a little more than we wanted, but it still seems do-able.

I wish those people who "LOVE" black and white pictures could actually live in a black and white world. I don't think it would take very long for them to beg for color.

Why Some Cancers Come Back 

Hubble reveals unavoidable collision between our galaxy and Andromeda

Animal aviators: Unusual creatures take to the skies 

In Tanzania people get paid for safe sex

Coming soon: a vaccine to end all allergies 

Dumb Law of the Week: In Vermont, it is illegal to publically deny the existance of god! (So much for separation of church and state!)

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Eurovision Trip

 Robb and I watched the live Grand Finals of the European Song Contest  which is held every year around this time.  Every European country (and Isreal for some reason) has an entry.  Most of them are nothing outstanding, but a few are truly unique.  This year, I selected Russia , Sweden and Albania as my choices for the top prize.  The actual winners were Sweden, Russia and Serbia.  Because Sweden won this year, next year's competition will be held in Stockhom.  The one outstanding thing, in my opinion, is that the French singer sang in English as well as French, and the French presenter spoke English.  I can't remember that ever happening before.  Maybe it's the new President.  If you've never seen the competition, I do recommend you watch at least once.  You can see it live at the website listed above. You can also see this (and previous) year's performances there and on You Tube.

Our trip is falling apart because of the inability of Robb's French bank (BNP Paribas) to realize this is 2012 not 1912, and a check that seems to have gotten lost in the mail somewhere between Fort Lauderdale and Paris.  The bank insists Robb send everything through snail mail.  It has already cost us the aprtment in Montpellier.

Scientific Proof That Everyone Lies

Evening star goes black in rare celestial event
  

The Sound of Color
  

Startup uses neuroscience to pick which ads work

Dumb Law of the Week: In Florida, it is illegal to immitate animals!

À la prochaine, mes amis

The Manor

Friday night (again), we decided to hop over to a local pub, The Manor on Wilton Drive. I had no sooner parked, than we saw a place with flashing lights off to our right. We went over to have a look and it was a Latino AIDS benefit of some sort. We bought our tickets and went inside. There were very few people there, mostly males. The only thing they had to drink was Stolichnaya with assorted mixers. We each had one with tonic, and wandered around for awhile. Then we went outside and struck up a conversation with the DJ, Jared Michaels. He was really a super nice guy and we had quite a chat. He also showed us how his DJ mixer worked. Very interesting. We finished our drinks and made our way over to the Manor. The crowd was just starting to arrive and by the time we left (around 02h30) the place was humming.

Video of a woman vacuuming her cat

Egyptians debate 'traumatizing tradition' of female circumcision

Beaming solar power back to earth

The Benefits of Being Bilingual

Researchers Prove Tin Foil Hats Boost Receptivity To Government Signals

Dumb Law of the Week: In Chicago, it is illegal to take a French poodle to the opera!

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Smartphone Trip

I have two smartphones. A Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, which I got from AT&T for $.01 (one penny), and an HTC Clone, which I bought from a Chinese company named Alibaba. The SE Xperia is a great phone and takes really good pictures as well (after all,, it is a Sony product). But when I saw the HTC with it's large screen (4.3 inches) and it's newer OS (Android 2.2), I couldn't resist. The real deal clincher is the fact that it has dual SIM card slots, so when we're in Europe, I just insert my European SIM in one of the slots and I'm good to go. It, too, takes great pictures and the camera is 8.1mp, as is the Xperia. Everything was fine until the SD card in the HTC decided to go south. Tuesday, I took it to a place that allegedly repairs cell phones. The guy there told me that it wasn't working because it was supposed to be a Windows phone and the OS was changed. Now, I'm not a rocket scientist, but that just didn't make sense. If it wasn't going to work because the OS was changed, it wouldn't have worked for all those months before it went south. Long story short, I brought it home and fixed it myself and probably saved about fifty dollars by so doing.

We are planning a trip to Europe. We'll fly to Aeroport Charles de Gaulle, ride to Paris where, after a couple of weeks, we will board a train at Gare de Lyon to Montpellier, in the south of France. After Montpellier, we'll take another train to Bordeaux, followed by a trip to Madrid and then home. The purpose of this trip is to look into the possibility of buying a place in France. Places are a lot less expensive in southern France, or even just outside of Paris, so we'll probably find something we like and hope we can afford. We're still debating the itineary. It may only be to Montpellier and Bordeaux.

Remember what I wrote about there being no dumber animal than a Republican? Check out this headline: "Self-loathing gay republican groups attack Obama for supporting their rights" I rest my case.

Friday night we went to Scandals for some sight seeing and a drink. It was crowded, but it was Friday night and they're open till 03h00. I ordered two Bear Claw drinks because neither of us knew what they might be. They were slushies with rum. Robb recognized it immediately, but I had no idea. I don't usually like rum,, but these were pretty good. We saw a couple people from the condo, but most of them were strangers. One guy came over and started talking to us, then invited himself to sit at our table. According to him, he's deaf but he reads lips. If that's true, he does so really good.

In India, an air-powered car. I saw this several years ago. 

Safe nuclear: India’s thorium reactor 

Rare Calico Lobster Turns Heads, And Escapes Dinner Menu 

13-year-old student finds cure for hiccups 

11 Other Uses for Toothpaste

FYI: Where Is The Center of the Universe? 

Dumb Law of the Week: In In Columbus, Ohio, it is illegal to sell cornflakes on Sunday!

À la prochaine, mes amis

The Socialists Are Coming!!!

Les Enfoirés

The French have a new President, Monsieur François Hollande (don't pronounce the 'H'.) He is the leader of the Socialist Party of France. Oh oh, the Boogeyman! The Us should learn something from the French elections.....but they won't. I'm willing to bet that the defeated party will NOT do everything they can to make the new president look bad in spite of how bad their actions may be for their country.

Lack motivation? Blame your brain chemistry. 

Fracking drives pronghorn herds out of Wyoming habitat 

BMW, Daimler partner on ultra-light Visio.M city EV

Pictures Of The Supermoon

Dumb Law of the Week: In Colorado it is illegal to kiss a sleeping woman!

À la prochaine, mes amis.

5/1/2012

  

Thursday afternoon - Either there is an air show underway, or we're under attack. So many super fast, super noisy jets.  The air show that was scheduled for Sunday was canceled because it was too cloudy to see the planes.

I just read a headline pooh-poohing the idea that the Iranians could back-engineer the US drone they shot down. It's time for a wake-up call Unirted States. Some of the best engineers in the world are from the Middle East area. An example: who do you think designed and built all the buildings and bridges from which Cheney made a few billion after his pal Bush bombed them?

There cannot possibly be a dumber animal on the face of the earth than a Republican! Remember when, before Bush, most people said it doesn't matter for whom you vote because they're all the same? That's no longer true. Something nasty has happened to Republicans and so now, it definitely makes a difference when you cast your vote. If you hate women, gays, latinos, teachers, postmen, unions, children, medicare and social security, by all means vote Republican.

Mysterious Objects Punching Holes In Weird Saturn Ring 

Watch first ever live shots from inside Northern Lights 

New blood test predicts heart attack weeks in advance

Dumb Law of the Week: In California, it is illegal for a man to beat his wife with a leather strap, unless she gives him permission!

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Lots of Good

Good news: The Shingles seem to be clearing up. Very slowly, but the signs are there.

Geoff had his prostate operation on Tuesday and is at home recovering. It seems all went well. Of course, I can only go by what Robb tells me because Goeff had another hissy-fit just before Robb's birthday and isn't talking to me.....again. He claims it's forever this time. One can only hope.

Rick, our neighbor from New York, brought us a beautiful bouquet because I let him use our wifi. 

I tried to reach my sister who is recovering from a bad fall. I called several times a day for four days with no answer. I even tried calling my nephew and my niece with no reply from them either. I was expecting the worst because she has had heart problems, but when I called yesterday, she anwered and all is well. Apparently, she had several appointments, and spent one day getting her hair done.

NASA Invests In Satellites That Beam Power Down to Earth 

Dark matter search turns up empty 

The yin and yang of male pattern baldness 

Celebrate Earth Day in Super High Resolution 

Dumb Law of the Week: In Alabama, it is illegal to impersonate a person of the clergy.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Sunshine State

My life has been reduced to three-hour increments. Every three hours, I take a pain pill. Well, actually, I take the pain pill (Vicoden) at 01h00, 07h00, 13h00, 19h00, and an Advil at 04h00, 10h00, 16h00, and 22h00. I do very little between the pills because just about any activity causes mucho pain. I can only look at TV or my PC screen for a couple of minutes than I have to look away. Needless to say (but I will anyway), it's quite painful to be out in the bright sunshine.  Florida isn't called the Sunshine State for nothing. The painful area seems to be getting smaller, but the intensity of the pain hasn't decreased. The problem is not just the pain. It also itches simultaneously. And to make matters even more humorous, most of the same area is numb to the touch. Is that strange or what?

Someone, or a group of someones, broke into several cars at our condo complex last night.  Not much was accomplished by the thieves because most people know better than to leave things in their cars.

Chinese Teen Sells Kidney For iPad And iPhone 

Antibiotics in the Animals We Eat 

Dumb Law of the Week: In Atlanta, it is illegal to dress a mannequin in public!

À la prochaine, mes amis.

Sunday, April 08, 2012

Happy Easter

  

<< : Update

Update

 Saturday was Robb's birthday. His neice sent him a fruit bouguet from Edible Arrangements. It was really nice and made with cantaloupe, honeydew, pineapple, strawberries and grapes. Saturday evening we went to Sage for dinner.  We sat at this table next to the window.  We both had duck.

I am beginning the third month with Shingles with no end in sight. I still cannot sit in front of my PC for mote than a few minutes. It is quite painful.

Dumb Law of the Week: In Alabama, it is illegal to have an ice cream cone in your back pocket at any time.

À la prochaine, mes amis.

I Had To

I Had To

because

for several

 

POWERFUL

 

minutes

I WAS

Hiatus

The world, at least the one in which I live, is an incredibly noisy place. In the course of one hour, there will be at least four planes directly over our apartment, there will be two or more trains (the noise level depends on the direction of the wind), an untold amount of police and ambulance sirens, several morocycles athat seem to have no mufflers, blaring TV sets, blaring stereos and other assorted noises. On our floor (the third) there are four people who are very hard of hearing; Dominic whose stereo can be heard blasting opera when you get on the elevator on the first floor; the Doctor (he used to be a pchiropractor) who listens to talk radio shows all day long; and Peter, who thibks he's a champion whistler (I have yet to hear him whistle one song all the way through correctly). These things would be bad enough at any time, but right now while I have a 24-hour headache, they're really annoying and painful. It reminds me of the first time we came back from Paris with a video we had made. We had no idea Paris was so noisy until we played the video. In fact, we were quite surprised at the noise level. Speaking of pain, it is rather painful for me to sit and type this, so this may be my last post until I can look at the screen for more than a few minutes.

Thousands of spiders blanket Australian farm after escaping flood 

Dumb Law of the Week: In Alaska, it is illegal to feed alcoholic beverages to a moose.

À la prochaine, mes amis

In Lieu

In lieu of a real post this week, a few news items and some music. I hope to be able to see well enough to do an actual post soon.

Spider silk spun into violin strings 

100,000 AD: Living in the deep future

Technique may reveal where it all began 

Brain 'X-ray' exposes broken connections after injury

Dumb Law of the Week: In Washington, it is illegal to ride an ugly horse down the street!

À la prochaine, mes amis.