Category Archives: Little known info

Potato Soup a la Diet Pepsi

Posted in Crazy Nuts, Growing Old, Little known info by

Don’t know if the term is correct. I know it is not a good idea.

As a devoted fan of Campbell’s soups, I’ve always had a soft spot for their cream of potato variety. On this particular occasion, my hunger led me to prepare the soup with my signature touch: crumbling crisp saltine crackers into the steaming bowl and accompanying the meal with a refreshing Diet Pepsi, which I started to poured directly into the creamy mixture.

Now, you might ask why I did that. Well, I’ll tell you, I have not the foggiest idea. I had poured an ounce or two before I realized my blunder.

For those wondering if it improved the taste, let me say this: I would not recommend it. However, it was tolerable. Moreover, I will go well out of my way to make sure I do not repeat it. Not only did it ruin the soup, but I also lost part of my soda.

Oh well. As they say, it all ends up in the same place anyway.

The Instant Millionaire

Posted in Awkward Situation, Entertainment, fun with math, law enforcement, Little known info, Memories, Our Legal Systems by

My memory is a little foggy. I tried to use the internet to clear things up but I failed. Sometime in the days of the top 40 being aired on the radio (late 1950s), there was a famous disc jockey. As I say, my memory is foggy, so please forgive me if I’m wrong. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say the man was Jim Hawthorne.

At any rate, whoever he was, came up with the idea and suggested it on the radio. He said, with 35 million in the United States, (or whatever it was back then) if everyone sent me just a quarter, I would be an instant millionaire. (and by the way, back then a million dollars was a fortune)

Well, he wasn’t serious, but many of his listeners took him seriously. Indeed, if I remember right, he did receive close to a quarter of a million dollars, in quarters.

It all sounds nice enough, but he got in some real trouble for that. I don’t know why; however, he was required, as much as possible, to return all the money.

Perhaps it is a law, maybe an FCC regulation. Maybe the radio station didn’t like it. However, that little case of foot in mouth disease cost the man plenty, over nothing more than a few quarters.

Odd. It seems harmless enough. However, I guess if a person is going to ask for money, there is a legal way of doing it. A person can’t just ask for it. I guess if they do, they are asking for it. As for me. I look at this way. It’s just another way to keep me from becoming an instant millionaire.

NOTE: Please do not send me any quarters.

Smiles

Posted in A Little About me, Little known info, Respect by

Went to Burger King today. First time in a week we went anywhere to eat, being as I had been sick. They had a big poster up for Halloween and I complemented the person I saw there on it. It surprised me. She got a great big smile and said thank you.

Did not know it meant so much. Maybe she was the one that picked it out. And by the way, it was a very nice poster.

Nonetheless, it did bring to mind something. Isn’t it nice to bring such a big smile with such a little gesture?

It never added one penny to the woman’s salary, but I guess, it still made her feel better. And you know what? It made me feel better too. Wish it was so easy to make make everyone feel a little better. Maybe it is, when we know the right thing to say or do.

My Two Favorite Nuts

Posted in experience, Food, Little known info by

It is an oddity, of sorts. The two nuts I like the very most, aren’t nuts, or so I’m told. The peanut is a legume. Never heard of legumes until a couple of decades ago. I can easily sit down and eat a couple of pounds in one sitting.

Then about two or three years ago, some one spoiled it for me for cashews. All the time I have been eating them and then they spoil it for me. They said cashews aren’t nuts either. I think of all nuts, or should I say of all not-nuts cashews are my favorite. It is a good thing they cost so much. I would make myself sick on them very regularly.

They, along with the real nuts are really very healthy. That means they are good for you. Don’t let the kids find out. Because of the fiber in them, they are very good for digestion. It’s true. The last few months, I have taken to eating them, a lot of them.

Since I was thirty-ish I have had problems with digestion. I have paid many doctors a lot of good money to help me. It didn’t work. There are some things doctors know not. Now, since I have been eating the non-nut nuts, I have been doing much better, thank you. I sure wished one of those doctors told me about nuts a long time ago.

Of course, not everyone can eat peanuts or cashews. I am told as many as 20 percent of people are allergic to them to some degree. That is a true shame because the non-nuts are good and they good for a person, I mean, even besides the fiber thing. They are good about helping with circulation and they keep cholesterol low. Though cashews are an expensive food, they are less expensive than a heart attack or stroke. I wish I knew about them before my heart attack.

I buy at least two bags of peanuts and a couple of cans of cashews now every time I go shopping. I buy the peanuts still in the shell. I’ve gotten pretty good at shelling them. It gives me something to do while watching TV. I try to put the shell in a container, but many end up in my lap or on the floor. That means cleaning up after.

I guess it’s been a couple of decades ago, I drove south to the Gulf. By the time I reached Jackson, I started noticing signs, “Boiled Peanuts.” I had two thoughts, “You can boil peanuts?” and “What in the world do they taste like?” Well, I guess I did have one more thought, “Do I want to find out?”

I thought the thought revolting. I couldn’t imagine people ruining perfectly good peanuts and I certainly couldn’t imagine anyone would actually to pay for them. I mean, who wants to pay good money for a bunch of ruined peanuts?

Well, I guess there are a few folks who like to eat their legumes that way. Otherwise, why would anyone be selling them. I still have one more question. Are they boiled in or out of the shell? After all, anyone can boil nuts. It does, however, seem to be a thing a person should find out before they start heating the water.

A Five Word Search

Posted in Awkward Situation, Computers, Fine Actors, Good Memories, Growing Old, Little known info, Memories, Newly Married by

Perhaps one of the greatest side benefits of the internet is the way we can search out songs, some that are long forgotten. Last night I was watching a segment of an episode and the character was sitting at a piano playing a toon. I said to myself, “self, I know that tune. I’ve heard it a time or two.

The problem is that I couldn’t remember the words, or hardly. I couldn’t even remember who recorded it. I certainly didn’t know the title of the tune. As I started to search, I had no success. I have heard that a search can be recognized if I can hum the melody. I suppose that might be possible, that is if I can hum the tune. The problem with that is that I couldn’t hum any tune if my life depended on it. I might manage to whistle a bar or two but no more.

Finally, after four tries, I managed to remember 5 words… sort of. It was kind of a guess of a guess. The words I searched were, “Wedding bells will ring so merrily.” To my surprise the song appeared. Even more, i could hear Doris Day sing it. I suspect the song, “Till We Meet Again,” seemed to be written for Doris Day. It brought back some very nice memories, and I played it several times, some by other singers. I still think Doris played the best, but they were all good rendering.

I don’t think those who built the internet such a thing in mind. But I am very grateful that someone put together the feature. If they hadn’t helped me find the tune, I’d still be going nuts with the five words still going through my mind and trying to figure out the title. Do you have a hint how bothersome such a thing can a thing can be?

Oh, and by the way, I’d not be able to pass such a nice, pleasant thing along to others. And by the way, it would likely make a very wonderful song for a wedding…that along with “True Love.” [I think first sung by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in the movie, “High Society”]

A Little Help for Those Raking Leaves

Posted in Little known info, Raking leaves by

Maybe you already know this. If so, I wish you told me. I’ve put liners in trash cans and then tugged and tugged to get the filled liner back out. Currently, my main problem is pine needles but I’m sure it’s the same.

One day I had a very much overfilled liner and simply could not remove the liner from the trash barrel. Finally, just before giving up, I slid a rake handle down the inside of the barrel between the liner and the barrel. After turning the barrel on its side, I wiggled the liner a little and then it slid right out.

Nowadays, I have a round stick taped to the side of the barrel. Sure wished I thought of it sooner. Sure wish they had barrels with the stick, or something similar built in. It comes in handy for grass clippings too. As an aside, I can stuff more clippings or leaves in each bag.

I still have a real problem though. As an old man, I can only fill 3, sometimes 4 bags of pine needles a week. The pine trees produce close to twice that.

As an aside, I found another solution for USB plugs. Whenever I go to plug them in, I almost always get it upside down every time. When I do get it right, I make the mistake of thinking it is wrong, even worse. The problem is that the one side almost looks the same as the other. I know it is a little thing but it can become complicated by low light and cramped conditions. Now I take a little Whiteout and put it on the top of the plugs. Now I always get it right.

The trick now is finding the right plug for the right device. I figure there are at least 4 of them that are nearly the same size. I say this because I have all 4. Whose idea was that anyway? When they came out with them, the idea was standardization. Then they come out with all these different sizes.

Re-Establishing the Police

Posted in Abuse of Power, Controllers, Crime, Deceit, Kamala Harris, Lawyers and Representation, Little known info, Mistakes, Politcal Opinion by

The common or preferred term is re-fund the police. It does likely speak to the original problem but if re-fund is read or inferred incorrectly, it has a different meaning altogether. Nonetheless, it does, for those of us that like Bible terms, seem that there is a little repenting going on. For those unaware, repent means to turn and go the opposite way, implying an acknowledgement of going the wrong way originally.

Consider the bus passenger realizing he is going south when he should go north. Most likely, he would repent to boarding the wrong bus. Likely, as early as possible, he would get off the one bus and get on one going the right way. To be sure, it would be ridiculous to remain on the wrong bus for any reason.

At any rate, there I go getting wordy again. The fact is that some cities realized they really messed up. I just heard that in at least one case, the repent will be by law. A judge has ordered the manning levels be re-established to city charter levels.

This all does sound wonderful and good but the fact is, the damage has been done. Those who decided to decrease the manning levels should be heavily fined for three reasons. First, many of the officers lost their jobs. Of those that didn’t they were not properly respected by the government. It severely handicapped them as well as endangered their lives, as well as the public in general. (It is possible that one or two people will not be sitting down at the dinner table anymore because of this dumb idea.)

Second, it will take a while to increase the manning levels back to where they were. Many of those who were working as officers found other jobs in other cities or other lines of work. Many would refuse to come back to work even at elevated salaries. After all, who wants to work for a city government that has no trust or respect for them.

Third, and likely most important, there was a great deal of training lost. It will take months to replace the officers but it will take years for them to have the equivalent experience and training.

It was effectively the democrats and the democrat party behind the de-fund the police movement. What they did greatly helped the criminals. It is another reason to call them friends of the criminals (FOC).

Please, if you like the things I write, tell you friends. I won’t mind; really I won’t. If you agree with what I say and the way I say it, you just might help do some good by helping to share my posts.

Potatoes

Posted in Food, Little known info by

A little while ago, I heard a man on TV say that potatoes originated in Peru. “Now that can’t be,” I said to myself. “Everyone knows that potatoes were started in Ireland.”

Shows how much I know. I looked it up. Guess what? He was right and I was wrong. Surprised me but you can look it up yourself. However, it does leave me with a question. What did the people in Europe have for dinner before Columbus. I can hardly think of sitting down to a meal without potatoes, certainly not very often. Like the the guy in the advertisement on TV says, it is usually my bite.

Don’t tell my cardiologist but I could make an entire meal of nothing but mashed potatoes and gravy. I wouldn’t need another thing. Well, it would be nice to have a glass of cold milk with it.

Well. I do like fried rice too. The problem with that is that I have no idea how to make fried rice.

Into Captivity

Posted in Israelites, Little known info, Religion by

In my last post, I discussed the origin of the Israelites and I suggested the reading of a few books of the Holy Bible to verify my post.  Indeed, I would hope you would read them, especially those who have not read them before in their entirety.

The first five books of the Bible and the book of Joshua explain the origin of the Israelites.  The books of Joshua, Kings and Chronicles explain the history as they lived in the Promised Land.

To be sure, in this post I want to concentrate on the events leading up to their going into captivity.  However, before I do this, I need to call one thing to your attention.

Shortly after the Israelites crossed over into the Promised Land, the book of Joshua records a very important event.  God called for the Israelites to chose Whom they would serve.  God called them to a pair of mountains and call out the blessings that they would receive for following God.  He also required them to call out the curses for not following God.  They had a choice and they chose to follow God.

God promised that, even if Israel strayed, if they would repent and follow the Lord, he would heal their land and bless them.  However, he told them that if they did not repent, that, among other things, He would scatter them throughout the world.

If we read Judges, and I wish you would, you will see several cases where they disobeyed God and worshiped idols.  In some respects, they were worse than those who were in the land before them.  Some of the events I find disgusting and I think most everyone would.

Yet, every time, they repented, God forgave them and He healed land and His people prospered.

It was God’s desire that Israel would be an example to the world.  He wanted us to know what will happen when a nation follows the Lord.  Unfortunately, they were often an example of a nation that did not follow the Lord.  Repeatedly He punished them and they repented.

When the nation was split into two kingdoms, the northern kingdom, Israel followed foreign gods.  Even though God frequently chastised them, it was only a matter of the degree of disobedience.  Finally, as God warned, he sent them into captivity.  The Assyrians came down and overthrew Israel and took many of them off into captivity.

Unlike Israel, Judah went through periods of obedience and periods of disobedience.  This was mostly recorded in the history of the kings of Judah.  When they had a good king, he would destroy the idols and made the people follow God.  When they had a bad king, he allowed idol worship, even to the point that he too would worship the idols.

Whenever God would chastise them, they turned from their wicked ways and He would heal their land and the people prospered.  In general, my own observation is that they could not stand the prosperity.  As they prospered, they turned from God and claimed their success was by their own hands…. Or worse, by the hand of idols.

These oscillations continued over the decades until, finally, Judah refused to repent.  When God chastised them, the people wrote it off as coincidence.  (Rather as we do today)

So God gave up on them.  He sent a prophet, Jeremiah.  Today, he is known as the weeping prophet because he was given an impossible task.  He was told to try to get the people to repent but God knew they would not and He told Jeremiah from the beginning that he would not succeed.  (I know I sort of repeated myself, but it was something worth repeating.)

Jeremiah wrote 2 books, the one bearing his name and Lamentations.  Parenthetically, lamentation means an expression of extreme grief or sorrow.  God let Jeremiah know some of what was going to happen to Judah and it caused him great sorrow.

God caused the kingdom of Babylon to rise up and attack Judah.  Through Jeremiah, He told them not to defend the city of Jerusalem.  He told them to give up.  The decision was already made and the best thing they could do was accept it.

Instead, they kept fighting to the point that they fulfilled the prophecies that they would eat their own babies and drink their own urine to survive during the siege.

Finally, about 100 years after the fall of Israel, Judah fell.

…BUT it didn’t stop there.

Another nation rose up, Persia and captured both Babylon and Assyria.  I guess God planned it that way.  Now, both Israel and Judah were under the authority of one king.

…and so it was that the entire nation of was again under one authority.  However, not all of Israel was in Persia.  Some remained in the Promised Land, those who were not taken away.  Some went south, many into Egypt.  To some degree, they were already scattered as God foretold back in the Book of Joshua.

After 70 years of captivity, fulfilling prophecy, the Israelis were allowed to return home.  In the Scriptures, the numbers returning was recorded accurately by tribe.  However, there is no recording of how many remained in Persia.  There is no way of telling where they went or how many remain to this day in Iran.

One of God’s unconditional promises was that He would greatly multiply the seed of Abraham and He did.  It is very likely that the number of Israelites doubled, tripled or greater while captive.  Many Israelites can continue to trace their history back through time.  Others have tried to hide their history.  They find it safer.

Also, during their captivity, there was some intermarriage.  The Book of Ester explicitly records the marriage of one Israeli woman to the King of Persia.  At this point the scattering of God’s people is well under way, but it has only begun.

In my next post, I will bring us up to date.  There is no way I, or anyone can completely follow where all the Israelites have gone, but I find it interesting that God, Himself, calls them Jews, all of them.  So, from this point on, so will I.  Even though Paul called himself a Jew, he was from the tribe of Benjamin.  (I don’t try to explain it.  I just take note of it.)

A Little Misdirection

Posted in Gathering false infomortion, Little known info, Uncategorized by

As an writer, I occasionally use the internet for research.  Currently, I am working on a book where I wanted to do some checking on camp-stoves, specifically the type that use Sterno fuel.

Now I have a slew of e-mails suggesting the purchase of camp-stoves.  My apologies to the merchants.  It was not my intention to misdirect you, but I am not interested in camp-stoves.  My days of camping are long behind me.  Besides, from what I learned of Sterno Stoves, they are not well suited for camping.  They have a hard time boiling water.  In my book, my character decided on the old gasoline type.  The flame burns hot and the fuel is readily available.

Don’t get me wrong, the Sterno Stoves do serve a good purpose, but not for survival.  The flame is not hot enough to boil more than a quart or two of water.  Propane or (or if available) is much better for most purposes.  There is a one burner version that is not much larger than the LP bottle and it can generate a good uniform flame for quite a while.  It would very likely be a good stove for power outages, unless like me, you have a gas stove.

The one real laugh I have about it all, those monitoring my internet queries often have a false impression of me and there is not one thing I can do about it.  None of there e-mails permit return messages.