FIRST TIME THIS YEAR...

that it was warm and dry enough for a nice long (for me)  scooter ride.  Temps in the mid to upper 70’s, light breeze.  I was headed to the drug store, and I went by way of the Stevens Creek trail, which is a bit of a long way around. 
 But much prettier, and much safer, since I avoid crossing all the freeway entries and exits.

I wasn’t alone.  Lots of bicyclists, a skateboarder, and a couple of hikers.  Saw a tiny, tiny hummingbird, but not for long as it flitted away out of my vision.  I have never before seen Stevens Creek with so much rushing water!  So often in dry weather the creek is, too.  The drought here has been proclaimed OVER, and the rain that the storms dumped in the mountains is now gushing down toward the bay.

You may remember my posting about last September about the bridge over Stevens Creek on El Camino Real that was dangerously broken (See OBSTACLES)  Well, it has now been replaced with a new bridge, and I certainly feel safer crossing that.



Cartoon -

These contractors are installing the steel pillars in concrete to stop vehicles from parking on the pavement outside a Sports Bar downtown. They are now in the process of cleaning up at the end of the day and anxious to go home.
How long do you think it'll be before they realize where they parked their truck?

READING

Today I am talking about reading books.  Many novels seem to pose some problem for the protagonist, and the story is mainly about how that problem is solved.  If it is well written, the solution is not at all obvious, and we may be surprised and pleased with the outcome.  These fictional stories are usually set in a society with which we are familiar, or at least find believable.  Sometimes the final result is almost predictable.

However, I am now reading a series of short stories by Robert Heinlein.  He was among the first authors of bestselling, novel-length science fiction, and the short stories I’m now reading are termed ‘fantasies’.  Here the conclusion is by no means obvious as the author introduces other worlds, creatures with mysterious powers, and some rather fantastic gadgetry.  (He tried to attach the Grbtzz to the outside of his Aircar, but even using the power of the Inner World, it kept falling up.  Something was wrong.)  (Or something like that.)  What makes Heinlein’s stories interesting, though, is that he sets them in reasonably recognizable settings so that one is not lost either figuratively or literally in space.  Quite interesting to read something almost entirely outside what I’ve been consuming.

Here is another intriguing item about one of the Heinlein short stories I just finished.  The story is called Waldo, and there is a character named Waldo who invents various remote manipulators called Waldos.  What makes that interesting is that inventors have created various remote manipulators to handle, for example, radioactive materials, and have dubbed them Waldos, after the gadgets in the story.

Cartoon plus --

I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose fitting clothing. If I HAD any loose fitting clothing, I wouldn't have signed up in the first place!

* *

Note on package for mailing:  FRAGILE- TOSS UNDERHAND.

I called your house the other day and was told you were down at your favorite biker bar with some friends.  I wasn't sure where that was, but was told I wouldn't have much trouble finding it.
Sure enough, I drove just a couple blocks and there it was...

FINGER MONKEYS

The finger monkey is the tiniest living primate in the world. It's so small that it can hold on to your finger. This cute little primate hugs and grips on to your finger so tight that it pulls your heartstrings and you wish you could take it home with you. Finger monkeys are, as a matter of fact, pygmy marmosets. They are also known by the names "pocket monkey"and "tiny lion". These primates belong to the family Callitrichidae, species Cebuella and genus C. pygmaea. They are native to rain-forests of Brazil , Peru , Bolivia , Ecuador and Colombia

These came to me from a good friend in Ireland (Thank you, Lynn), and I trust you will find them as adorable as I have.

Oh, that's punny!

I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.

A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'

A backward poet writes inverse.

In a democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.

If you jumped off the bridge in Paris, you'd be in Seine .

DENTAL UPDATE

Well, things are moving, (including my loose teeth).  Friday the dentist explained what will be happening in painfully clear detail, and what options I might have.  None of the options, in the long run, seemed like a good idea, so I approved his plan.  They took another impression today, and filled one tooth (that I get to keep).  He will call me when we get to the next step.  As I said to the nurse, I’m not looking forward to all that remains to be done, but I am looking forward to when it is done.

Fun --
I’m not 40 something.  I’m 34.95 plus shipping and handling.

***
I don’t have hot flashes.  I have short, private vacations in the tropics.

***
A balanced diet is chocolate in both hands.
***
A new army recruit at the base barbershop is asked, “Want to keep your sideburns?”
“Oh that would be great!”
“Ok, I’ll get you a bag to put ‘em in.”

BEAUTIFUL SCENES

Gorgeous scenery doesn't need any comment from me.

Missing package update--
It finally showed up Friday evening.  Cliff connected it, and it works just fine.


Humor --

A Sunday school teacher was telling her class the story of the Good Samaritan. She asked the class, 'If you saw a person lying on the roadside, all wounded and bleeding, what would you do?'

A thoughtful little girl broke the hushed silence, 'I think I'd throw up.'

***

A Sunday school teacher asked, 'Johnny, do you think Noah did a lot of fishing when he was on the Ark ?'

'No,' replied Johnny. 'How could he, with just two worms?'

***
A Sunday school teacher said to her children, 'We have been learning how powerful kings and queens were in Bible times. But, there is a Higher Power. Can anybody tell me what it is?'

One child blurted out, 'Aces!'

THE MISSING PACKAGE

Several weeks ago I started having trouble accessing the internet.  So I called my internet service provider tech support seeking help.  They had me run a series of tests that didn’t reveal the problem, and it was then suggested I try a somewhat different approach to get online.  This other method requires that I turn it on most all the time, since it has a tendency to shut down when not in use for some time -- like two and a half minutes.  (Okay, maybe three and a half.)  Also my email would not come in or go out unless I had this thing turned on.  Doable, but quite a nuisance.

So about a week or two later I phoned tech again.   They had me try several things, none of which worked.  Then I had a thought.  “Maybe it’s the modem,” I suggested.  They ran some kind of test at their end and concluded that yes, the problem is likely the modem.  They would send me a new one at no cost, but I would have to pay the shipping.  Well, all right, how much is the shipping?  It ranged from $40 for overnight, down to $20 (and here I quote the gentleman’s exact words)”... for delivery in up to 5 business days.”  I figured I could wait another 5 days. That was on Monday, March 14.  I thought I wouldn’t see it until the following Monday, at the earliest.  Sure enough, it did not arrive the following Monday.  I waited two more days.  No package.  So I called tech again.  Explained the situation.

Me:  Where is my package?
Tech:  Please hold.  (comes back)  It was sent to New York.
Me:  What?  I live in California!
Tech:  It was sent to  your New York address.
Me:  I don’t HAVE a New York address.  I have never lived in New York.
Tech:  That is all right.  We will mail you another.  It will arrive in 7 to 10 business days.
Me:  That is not satisfactory.  It is already two days late.  You’ll have to do better than that.
Tech:  Please hold.  (comes back)  You will have it  in 7 to 10 business days.
Me:  That is NOT acceptable.  Please connect me to someone who can do better.
Tech:  Please hold.  (hold music).  (different person)  May I help you?
Me:  You mean I have to go through this whole thing ALL OVER AGAIN?  (You might guess I was getting a bit under the collar).

Well, to cut this dialogue down, here, briefly, is what happened:  I demanded overnight delivery.  He agreed -- at the overnight delivery cost.  I said NO.  That under the circumstances, the incorrect delivery was their fault, and they should make it good.  We haggled back and forth a bit, with me standing my ground and insisting on every proposal he made, that I didn’t like, was unacceptable.

He finally (apparently) agreed to my terms.  I’ll believe it when the package arrives.  Whew!

Funny cartoon --

FESTIVAL!

We may think of oranges as coming from Florida or southern California.  However, these photos were taken at the Orange Festival in southern France.

 

Orange you glad I sent this!

More puns -

What do you get if you throw a grenade into a kitchen in France?  Linoleum Blownapart.

Two silk worms had a race, which one finished first?  Neither, they ended up in a tie.

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

What did one hat on a hat rack say to the other one? 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'

STANFORD

Stanford University is just up the road from here, about 8 or 9 miles.  Stanford is where Amalie received her graduate degree, and Stanford is where their sports programs have caught my attention.  Jim Harbaugh brought their football team back from obscurity, and is now head coach of the San Francisco 49ers.

But it’s the women’s basketball team that has really captured me.  Tara VanDerveer has been their coach for nearly 20 years, and she has done a remarkable job.  What caught my eye in the morning paper was this:  Monday evening they played their last game of the season on their home court (they are in the NCAA tourney), and had not lost one game there all season long.  Better than that, though, they have now not lost a game on their home court for the past four (yes, 4) years.  Quite an accomplishment!  They are shooting for nothing less than the NCAA championship!  And I’m rooting for them.


Fun --

Energizer Bunny arrested - charged with battery.

A pessimist's blood type is always b-negative.

MORE WILDLIFE

I suppose that none of these are intended as house pets.  Especially the last one.

On the lookout

Gee, some day you'll make a nice warm sweater, or coat, or ...

The hooded bandit lookout

I'm sleepy.  Go 'way.

Don't think this is strong enough to climb

Masked bandit leader

I thought you said this was a pond.

Smell good, but not too tasty.

I drink here any time I want.

Humor -

It is known that some species of fish on the coral reef have adapted to be able to survive the poisonous sea anemone's sting.  This gives them a safe place to hide from predators.  What isn't so well-known is the story of the single fish that decided to be different.  One day he swam away from his protective anemone, in search of some other hiding place.

           At first, he swam into a small crevice in the rock, but he very quickly swam out of there, chased by an eel.  Then he decided he could hide inside a shell, so he found a nice big one that he liked, but had to retreat from the crab that got there before him.  Finally, exhausted, he swam into the coral beds, and hid among the brilliant colored fern-like fronds of the corals.

          The next day, when he hadn't come back to the anemone, some of the other fish decided to go out and look for him. They hunted everywhere for him, but they couldn't find him.  Eventually, just as they had given up, they heard him calling to them.  They looked around, but they couldn't see him anywhere.  He was perfectly hidden by the coral.

          Finally, he showed himself and they tried to persuade him to come back home.  But he refused.  The coral was too good a hiding place to leave and "After all," he said, "with fronds like these, who needs anemones?"