THE DOLOMITES

The Dolomites are a mountain range in the south eastern Alps. Since 26 June 2009, the Dolomites are listed as World Heritage by UNESCO.

I was curious to see what this photo in heavy shadow would look like if lightened up a bit.

Ah, that does make a difference.  Quite a bit more detail.

Humor --

TALES OF THE TECHNOLOGICALLY CHALLENGED

Customer:  I'm trying to connect to the Internet with your CD, but it just doesn't work.  What am I doing wrong?

Tech support:  OK, you've got the CD in the CD drive, right?

Customer: Yeah....

Tech support:  And what sort of computer are you using?

Customer:  Computer? Oh no, I haven't got a computer. It's in the CD player and all I get is weird noises.

* * *
Tech support:  What kind of computer do you have?
Female customer:  A white one...

ANIMALS ARE ALWAYS INTERESTING

...and cute, and funny, and ... -- well, see  for yourself!

...and don't come back!

Let's be friends.

 

Put that back!  It's my move.

 Hey! Get your foot outta my mouf!

I'm hungr -- sleepy.

I just found it like this!  Honest!

We're waiting for the ice cream truck.

Nice 'n comfy.

I can't tell if it's yawning or yelling.

Fun -

SCALES

This story took place when there used to be scales on the street that, when you stepped up and dropped in your coin, would print out your weight and fortune.

A couple was walking down the street when the man spotted just such a scale. He stepped up on it, dropped in his coin, and when the printout came out, read what it said:  YOU ARE WISE, HANDSOME, SUAVE,AND DEBONAIR.

His wife, reading this over his shoulder, said, "They got your weight wrong, too!"

NOT TODAY

Not well.  See you tomorrow.

WORLD SIGHTS

These are a bit unusual, though a couple may seem familiar.

This little bridge is somewhere in Alaska.

 This arch in Arizona probably looks familiar.

 You're right!  That's the Grand Canyon!

 I've no idea where this is.

 The title on this photo when I received it said "mangrove".

  I don't know where this is, but I wonder if it's the remains of an ancient volcano.

 This is an excellent example of the erosion on an old volcano.

IN OTHER WORDS…

Once again, The Washington Post has published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which
readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. Winners include:

~ Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

~ Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how much weight you have gained .

~ Abdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

~  Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

...AND NOTHING HAPPENED!

Saturday evening Cliff said he wanted to get himself a pizza, so he called our favorite pizza parlor, and placed an order. Then he went out to the car to go pick it up. Put the key in the ignition, turned the key, and -- you guessed it -- dead battery.  So he came back in, and called to have it delivered, which they did.

But a dead battery?  Seems I just bought that thing. I asked Cliff to check the glove box in the car for the paper work.  Turns out that I’d replaced the battery 15 months ago, and it had a 36 month warranty.  Cliff was busy telling me it might not be the battery -- maybe the alternator, maybe some other electrical problem! Yikes!

So the following morning I phoned AAA, and they sent out a tow truck.  The driver checked the alternator; that wasn’t the problem.  He ended up replacing the battery at no cost; just reduced the time on the warranty. Whew!

Fun --

CALVINBALL

This is a game invented by Calvin (of cartoon fame) in which one makes the rules up as one goes along. Rules cannot be used twice. No Calvinball game is like another. The game may involve wickets, mallets, volleyballs, and additional equipment as well as masks.

There is only one permanent rule in Calvinball: One can't play it in the same way twice. For example, in one game of Calvinball, the goal was to capture one's opponent's flag, whereas in a different game of Calvinball, the goal was to score points by hitting badminton shuttlecocks against trees using a croquet mallet. An apparent rule in Calvinball is that one must wear a black mask and that one isn't allowed to question the mask. Another apparent rule is that any new rule made up by each player must be accepted.

SAN FRANCISCO, part two

Here is the last of the photos I have of the city known as the Baghdad by the Bay.

This is the Conservatory in Golden Gate Park

 Lombard Street is billed as the crookedness street in the world.

I used to have a boss who lived off this street, so I had many occasions

to drive down the hill. It is a one way street.

 San Francisco City Hall. I have read that it is about 2 inches taller than the 

Capitol in Washington, D. C.

 Pier 39 is a shopper's  delight, I've been told. I have not been there.

The building at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge is Fort Point.  When California became a state 

in 1850, U.S. military officials recommended fortifications to secure his San Francisco Bay, and 

Fort Point became one of those defenses. When I looked this up, I thought this line was most interesting – – “Plans specified that the lowest tier of artillery be as close as possible to water level so cannonballs 

could ricochet across the water's surface to hit enemy ships at the water-line.”

 Here we are at Powell and Market, where the cable car is turned 

around to go back up the hill.

 The Presidio of San Francisco. The only time I was here is when I was drafted into the Army.

 The Powell Street cable car, climbing halfway to the stars.

Coit Tower is located in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco. The 210 foot tower is named for Lillian Coit, and was built in 1933 as her bequest to beautify the city of San Francisco. The name  "Telegraph Hill" came from a structure built on the top of the hill in the mid-1800s, which would visually signal the city with regard to the type of vessels passing through the Golden Gate.

 This is a view from Coit Tower.

 The San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge at night.

 And this is the Golden Gate Bridge. It constantly needs repainting, as you can see

from that yellow stretch in the middle of the bridge.

THEY SAID…

“Theoretically, television may be feasible, but I consider it an impossibility-- a development which we should waste little time dreaming about.”
~~ Lee de Forest, 1926, inventor of the cathode ray tube.

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
~~ Thomas J. Watson, 1943, Board Chairman, IBM.

“It doesn't matter what he does, he will never amount to anything.”
~~ Albert Einstein's teacher to his father, 1895.

“It will be years - not in my time - before a woman will become Prime Minister.”
~~ Margaret Thatcher, 1974.

“This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The
device is inherently of no value to us.”
 ~~ Western Union internal memo, 1876.

FORMAL ATTIRE

I’ve said that I like birds.  That includes penguins -- especially the little guys!

Hey, you're chewing on my ear!

 The elders

 Family portrait

 Smile!

 Right behind ya, Ma.

 Now stay there where I can keep an eye on you!

 Best way to get there is sliding down the hill.

  I tell you this kid stepped on my foot.

 Taking the kids to the swimming pool.

 I'm just a widdle guy.

Humor --

40 years of marriage . . .

A married couple in their early 60s were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant. Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table. She said, 'For being such an exemplary married couple and for being loving to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish.'

The wife answered, 'Oh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband. The fairy waved her magic wand and - poof! - two tickets for the Queen Mary II appeared in her hands.

The husband thought for a moment: 'Well, this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this will never come again. I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me.
The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish.

So the fairy waved her magic wand and poof!...the husband became 92 years old.