JUST SOME POSTS

I love learning and knowledge. I love weird facts. I just came across one that qualifies as one of the weirdest and coolest I have ever read. Read on... The microscopic parasite Toxoplasma gondii has an interesting effect when it infects rats and mice - it makes them become unafraid of cats. This is pretty helpful to the Toxoplasma , which can only sexually reproduce if its host is eaten by a cat. Is that awesome or what?!? This parasite can only reproduce in the intestinal tract of felines (cats). It can be carried by any warm blooded creature. If it is present in a rat or mouse, one of the side effects of the parasite is to form vacuoles which become cysts in the brains of the host. In rats and mice those cysts cause some sort of chemical reaction that cause the rats/mice to lose their fear of cats. Here is one citation of the phenomenon - T. gondii infections have the ability to change the behavior of rats and mice, making them drawn to rather than fearful of the scent of ca...

I spend more nights in hotels than most people I know. The majority of them are middle range to the better of the lower range types - my current favorites are Hampton Inns and Comfort Suites. Occasionally , I stay at nicer places - I am writing this from the Hilton Waterfront Resort on the beach in Huntington Beach, California . I have stayed at a lot of Hyatt Regency, Westin , etc type places as well. I have some observations and comparisons from these stays. First, it amazes me, but is proven out over and over again - the more the room costs - the more they nickel and dime you to death (I use that as an expression only - it is really ten and twenty dollar you!!) For example, I am writing this while sipping on a $2.69 ( pre -tax) 20oz Diet Coke. I have my computer hooked in to the Hilton wireless network at $12,95 a day. This morning I had a $20 breakfast. Now before you think I went wild and ordered the steak and egg extravaganza, let me clarify. I had the fruit plate. It was a pret...

I have not done a post in while and the clamor from my fans has reached a whisper. So, here we go.... As one that has become much more savvy in the way of handicapperness over the past months, I have a few observations on all things handicapped. 1) I notice a LOT of people ride around with their handicapped hangtag permanently affixed to the rearview mirror. This in spite of the warning at the bottom that states to take it down when driving. This morning I drove by two people that had their tag hanging while driving and it dawned on me; this is their MENTALLY handicapped tag. It is all clear to me now. 2) As one that now has trouble finding a handicapped parking place at times and ends up rolling my wife from the back of the parking lot by a twenty-something lady and her child getting out of the last handicapped space; IF YOU DON'T NEED THE HANDICAPPED SPACE, DON'T USE IT! Just having the sticker in your car does not mean you get to take the space. If you CAN walk, enjoy th...

This is the first post I have ever attempted to do without at least a good idea of what I am going to write. (I don't know how other people do this kind of things, but what I do is see/hear/remember something and then do a general outline in my head. Then I sit down and write it from beginning to end in one fell swoop. I never go back and correct or change except for spelling and gross grammar mistakes - at least the ones I see). This one is just coming as I type, basically because I felt it was time to do a post for my adoring fans (I know they are there somewhere!). I was thinking about how life today is soooooo different, especially for kids, than it was was for me. (when I start waxing nostalgic like this, I always have a deep seated desire to put on a cardigan, some slippers, and develop a quiver in my voice, but I digress) I cannot imagine my world as a kid adding computers, video games, 100+ channels of TV, cell phones, and all the other modern "conveniences" ...

"Just a small bit of cheese sir?" I remember that plea like it was yesterday. My father and his father before him were cabbies in London's eastside. I was destined to be one as well if I didn't break out of the future that was in the works for me. After the war, I luckily got a job with a small plastics firm on the continent, and well... the rest is history I guess. Do fleas get parasites? Can Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), be transmitted by leeches? Remembering back to childhood, I loved when we would start the cattle drives each spring. The dew on the grass as we awoke to sounds of the herd gently lowing was just damp enough to require you to put on shoes to go to the stream for your morning bath. I loved the tuba music best I think. That or the wild Mexican hat dances that we would hold on Tuesdays. Hey, there was always lasagna night!! Moooooooo. Mooooooo. The treehouse we lived in was especially cold in the winter months. Fires, of course, were forb...

Why is it that doctors cannot agree on anything. When was the last time you saw a story or advertisement that said - "Ten out of ten doctors agree..." Noooooo, it is always "nine out of ten..." or even "eight out of ten...". These guys need to talk. I hate Cracker Barrel. There I said it. The place is like depression era Grandma's house meets Disney. In my case, I have only had two decent meals there as well (fyi, I have only eaten there five or six times in my life, because I hated the food the first two). It is expensive, the service is slooooowww, it is noisy, and they are crowded (which means there are a LOT of first or second timers - OR I am in the minority) I especially hate the "country store" that sells Chinese made versions of my nostalgia. Big Lots sells the same stuff in some cases - MUCH cheaper. (I just realized if I could type "whiny", I could be Andy Rooney) What is it with kids/parents and restaurants (or ANY pub...