Tag Archives: writing

The Three Point Basket

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In 1979, NBA basketball players started making the 3 pointers. Why? I don’t know. I tried to look it up. I am very sure it it is documented somewhere.

I do know a thing or two about it. The ABA was the first to use it. It does seem to equalize things. It does somewhat offset the slam dunk.

Moreover, they had to change the defense some. It pulls some players away from hoop a bit and, maybe opens the inside a little. Also, it would seem a good shooter becomes a threat almost the instant he crosses the center line. I do wonder how many points Jerry West or Oscar Robinson would have had if they might have been able shoot three pointers. It might have changed the outcome of games or even seasons.

It also distorts the statistics. Recently, 2 records were broken. Highest woman’s points fell first, then men’s.

I noticed that whenever it was announced that Pistol Pete’s record fell, they quickly followed by saying it was before the 3 pt shot.

It prompted a thought for me. They were playing a different game with different rules. It does make me wonder about the new record.

To be sure, all professional games change. May I note that the NFL has had a change. It will effect the stats. It has to. There will be far more attempts at kickoff returns. That in itself is a significant statistic.

So, it is important to be careful about changes in the games. Poor Babe Ruth lost his record because they added a few games to the season. Hence, the asterisk has been added to the stats. Now we have asterisks all through the record books.

It is already difficult enough to compare players of different times. It does make me wonder with the little time limits rules changes that they are playing with in baseball. That one already directly effects one stat, game times.

I’m sure at least the umps will appreciate that.

Useless Information

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I don’t even remember what I was watching but I heard a word I hadn’t heard in ages, nixie tubes. When I was in junior high and high school, it was a common term to me. Now, a person would have to search high and low to find a person who knows the word, let alone what it is.

Of course, I knew the word and I actually know, conceptually, how they work. However, they were all but well on the way to being replaced by the LED by 1980. Yet, had we not had Nixie tubes in the 50s and 60s, it would have made the computer revolution much more difficult.

I’m not going to tell you about it. It is useless information today. Yet, here I am, carrying this useless info around in my memory for no reason whatsoever. It isn’t lingering there by itself. You might find this odd, but I can build circuits using vacuum tubes, though it will do me no good. Easier, faster, cheaper and better circuits can be purchased.

So, here I am, wondering around with all this wonderful useless information in my mind taking up precious space.

It makes me wonder, would I be better off if I could rid my mind of the useless information and push more current more useful info into it. Guess that’s not up to me. Here I am, carrying around all this useless info. Then, when I want to use a very useful word, I search my mind without success, and I stand there at the counter, looking like an idiot, trying to order mashed potatoes.

Worse, when I want a tuna sandwich, I say turkey, and visa-versa. I will say one person’s name when I mean the other and know it immediately.

If you see the wrong word now and then in one of my posts, it’s likely not because I don’t know better. Sometimes, it just is my mind gets cross wired. If you think I’m bad when I write, it is far worse when I speak.

Women Will Talk, and Talk, and Talk

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I am somewhat of an expert. It really isn’t new, nor was it ever. You have a large room full of men and women and another couple enters and the tongues start wagging. The more attractive the couple, the faster the tongues wag. This is especially true when the woman is especially attractive and wearing especially nice clothes.

It is prompted by jealousy, you know, because of the long blonde flowing hair and the perfect figure. The more perfect the figure, the greater the jealousy. Then of course, the more the tongues wag and the faster they wag, the greater the jealousy. In truth, they would all prefer to be the target of the discourse.

Why do I know this? Because I keep my mouth closed and observe. If others observed as much as me, they would be experts too.

Now! Why in the world did I decide to write on something that everyone knows? Well, it seems the last few days, people, especially those on TV and radio, have been talking…about a well known couple. It has filled the news. 1 out of 5 minutes of the news is about a famous couple, him a football player, her a singer.

I will settle it all in but a few words. It’s just a heap of green demons rising their ugly heads and we’d all be better off ignoring it all. And by the way, I am the self proclaimed expert on the subject.

Humorus Things, Usually

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When I was in Marine boot camp, I laughed at the confession I was in. The man next to me warned me that if the D.I. saw me I’d be in trouble. I replied, “If I don’t laugh I’d have to cry.” He looked at me as if I were nuts, which of course, I was. No one, but no one wanted to be caught laughing without permission.

Of course there are many other things that prompt me to laugh. Children are my favorite. Unfortunately, I am not around them all that much anymore. It’s one of the disadvantages of getting old.

Dogs, cats and occasionally birds make me laugh. My border collie loved to chase remote control cars, big bouncy balls and bubbles. He would chase them until he could hardly stand. Others watched him too and laughed. I have already said how I love to watch the cats chase lasers.

I like a good comedy movie. As I’ve said, I’ve seen Kelly’s Heroes at least a dozen times and just thinking of some parts make me laugh. Then there is Paleface with Bob Hope and Support Your Local Sheriff with James Garner.

A good joke will cause me to laugh while the dirty ones just turn my stomach. Sometimes, the right phrase will cause me and others to laugh. Today, I noticed some people in a restaurant slightly laughing. I looked over at the the total strangers and cautioned them that they were having entirely too much fun. We all laughed, especially them. Obviously I am not very good at quelling an outbreak of laughter.

I guess the little heading that was in Readers Digest is valid. Laughter is the Best Medicine. I always feel better after a good laugh. I think most of us do.

Daily writing prompt
What makes you laugh?
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Let’s Build Things Right

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Just for grins, I thought about spelling right, write, which would be wrong. Because I have a horible time with spelling, especially homophones (used to be homonym in my youth). Ironically, rite, wright, right and write are especially easy to get wrong as they are a group of 4. Most are groups of 2 or 3. Naturally they all have similar spelling. The English language would suddenly become easier if they were all spelled the same. Much better if true for all homophones.

However, instead, someone way back when decided to complicate my spelling life and came up with 4 spellings, each with its own meaning(s).

Now why am I speaking of spelling when my intention is to speak on fridges and washers. Well, I guess there is oddly a similarity. I promise.

In 1972, a long time ago, before the age of personnal computers, I purchased a 14 cubic foot coldspot fridge that, as far as I know still works. About 2005, I made a mistake. I wanted a bigger, better fridge…with an ice dispenser. It barely outlasted its 1 yr warrentee. I had it repaired. It broke again.

I bought another. It lasted 2 years and broke. Anyone notice a pattern here? Is there something wrong that they they can’t build them right?

When our washer broke, we bought another. Now that was a bad idea. I should have had the other one repaired. It was just a belt. I don’t have any memory of the old one dancing around the kitchen during the spin cycle. Thought about figuring a way to nail the new thing to floor.

The problem was, it works just the way it is supposed to. I can’t expect them to fix it on warrantee. It is simply a design defect. They didn’t design it right.

Guess I’ll be forced to buy a front loader. All the top loaders seem to like to dance. It is the result of an effort to decrease water usage. Well, I guess I could go back to the old wash tubs. It is just the two of us. It isn’t that hard. Fortunately, I still have a good gas dryer. If it breaks, I will get it fixed. I really might not like a new one.

Now. As for the new fridges. They have 3 things wrong. The old ones used a grate on the back of the unit as a condenser. No moving parts and easy to get at. The old ones used simple mechanical timers, which were simple, realiable, inexpensive and easy to replace. Modern ones use computers, complex, expesive, difficult and nearly impossibie to get to. You’d think such parts would have an easy access panel.

Then there is the coup de grace. Instead of using a heating element for defrosting, they use lights, which must be replaced on a regular basis. With us, it was about yearly.

Now, here’s the connection I promised you between the spelling and engineering. In general, people do expect me, an amateur, to get it right, though, I must admit I am prone to mess up now and then. These characters, engineers go to college four years and they are paid a bunch to get it right. They don’t and they still get paid.

As a short word in the defense of the engineers. They are under a lot of pressure to go green. (you know, Environmental, Social, Governmental, ESG)

You see, just as they decided to make English more difficilt, they have also decided to make appliances more difficult.

Okay. It is a stretch, a big one. Stll you get my point.

Incidentally, I wonder if it ever comes up in board rooms that they can make more profit off units that they can advertise as computer controlled instead of the old mechanical ones.

It’s a Walk in the Park

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Well, sort of. Sometimes I walk, sometimes I drive especially in the fall. Actually, that’s a two for. Any time I’m driving, then I am also listening to my radio or my music.

I might be listening to talk radio. Sometimes, in vein, I talk back. I might be listening to my 50s and 60s music. If alone I sing along. If my wife is with me, I don’t put her through the torture.

I really miss taking the dogs with me. I really enjoyed watching them enjoy it. No more. The dogs are gone and, given my age, I don’t want to orphan new ones.

Sometimes, in the spring, I will stop and watch a Little League game. I find them more entertaining than the major league games. It reminds me of the days my son played. In HS, he played pitcher and 3rd.

Now let me see. Is that 3 or 4. Let’s just say 2. Don’t want to be accused of cheating.

I like to draw and paint: pencil, pastels and water color. Used to like photography. It’s all so different now. Every now and then I still snap a picture, maybe while walking through the park. Sometimes, I will paint something I took a photo of. Those sunsets always look better painted. Besides, I always leave out the ugly power lines.

As an aside, you ever notice they always put those things in the middle of the most picturesque sites. I often wonder if I took an ocean cruise, they would have them in the middle of a beautiful pic out there. How do they do that?

Used to enjoy writing programs for my computer. I can code in Algol, Pascal, BASIC and to a lesser degree, C. I actually wrote a few useful programs as I have posted a year or two ago. The problem is that MS took my tools from me. I have several compilers and none are any good on the later versions of Windows.

I am sure I could get more compilers but it’s just almost completely different. Really let the air out of my balloon.

I still write books, but my mind is slowing down. Envariably, I find myself rewriting and I am having more difficulty with keeping things flowing right. Mostly, I occasionally get my old books out and try to improve them.

Then of course, in the meantime, I do battle with 5 ft. weeds. It’s not that I like to. If I don’t, they will simply take overtake everything.

It does make me think ahead. Don’t think there will be any weeds in heaven. That, in itself will will go a long way to make it heavenly. I think I will like that. Think of it. Flowers and no weeds. Come to think of it, I strongly expect there’ll likely be no power lines either.

I suspect I have not yet finished but my eyelids are getting heavy. I need a nap.

Bloganuary writing prompt
List five things you do for fun.
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Oddly I Had to Think About This One

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I say oddly because it should have been really obvious. I spent 7 years doing it… teaching. If I didn’t have personal needs, you know. Shelter, food, clothing etc, I would teach without pay.

There is just something about seeing results. It is worth more than salary. Unfortunately, I would never be allowed to teach the complex stuff like is taught in public schools. I was limited to the more simple things like radar.

Nonetheless, I must admit, I did have a job for about 15 years just before I retired. Even more importantly, I worked for a good company and boss. Not many can say they enjoyed their twilight years at work as I did.

I was a computer operator. It was neat for me. While it was a little challenging, I was not a leader. I don’t like being a leader.

I had a difficult time figuring out what my dream job would be because it wasn’t my dream. It was for real. That made it all the better.

Bloganuary writing prompt
What’s your dream job?
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Win Lottery?

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Well. I would be very surprised. I don’t participate in such. My small fortune is far too valuable to my wife and I.

If I may, I will explain what I might do if, as in the “Fidler on the Roof” song, I Were a Rich Man.

I guess the first thing I would do would be to guard it from the dems. I am sure that there are the 100s who would all know all these wonderful places for money. Did you know there are over a million registered charities that would be glad to take small, or larger sum from you. They are all wonderful organizations, I am sure. Only thing is, if I started with a million and gave each a dollar, I’d be penniless.

Some might want to sell me gold. That might be nice to have, but I can’t eat gold. I think I would rather have a year or two of survival food. Moreover, gasoline would be more useful. Did you know gold is very soft. That makes it a pretty sorry material for building. I think steel and aluminum would be far more useful.

A small plot of land seems a good investment. Old Joe and Obama seem to like the idea ocean coast property, despite the threat they keep telling us about. The ocean is about to rise 10 feet you know. Well, I’ll just make sure I’m 20 feet above the current tidal levels.

I think I would really like to start a really good school for teaching people of all ages to read. It would not be expensive. Rent a little space, hire a few teachers and pay the electric bill. If I didn’t have enough for teachers, I would just start teaching. Perhaps, I could find a volunteer or 2, or 3.

Of course, none of this would ever happen. I don’t buy lottery tickets. I have not once been in any of the local casinos. I have no desire.

It is likely because I never could win at gambling as a kid. I learned very young. Gambling, even if you win, is a bad idea. Besides, I do have a good understanding of math. I know my chances. Don’t like giving money away.

Bloganuary writing prompt
What would you do if you won the lottery?
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