“It Ain’t Necessarily So”

My Uncle had a very skeptical nature, which I believe was mostly influenced when he was in the U.S. Marine Corps.  He was always saying, “It ain’t necessarily so”, in answer to most every topic. I generally do not use this rather skeptical phrase, however, I think my topic today would be germane to that saying.

All my adult life people have told me I’m a genius. In college and grad school some of my professors told me I have a very analytical brilliant mind and had a very high I.Q. One even told me that I was a genius. “It Ain’t Necessarily So”. My high grades were the result of tedious study managed while working full-time. Granted, I have the ability to learn fast, I always have.

When I studied for my entry level Ham Radio Novice license several decades ago, one of the class members said I was way ahead of the other members. All Ham Radio license levels in those days were hard to get due to the very hard exams you had to pass, plus knowing Morse Code. I shortly went through the various license class exam steps to the Amateur Radio Extra Class license, which is the top of the line. The Extra Class used to be very hard to get due to the extensive electronic knowledge and 20 words per minute Morse Code you had to pass with at least 1 minute of perfect copy. One of the license tests was for the Amateur Advanced Class License. The FCC examiner told me I got a perfect score and that that was very rare.  Did that make me a genius? “It Ain’t Necessarily So”. I studied very intensely. These days it is very easy to pass all the exams since they essentially give you all the answers to the exams in a book and no Morse Code requirement. Those of us “old timers” that hold an Amateur Extra Class License did it “the hard way” when it was extremely difficult to earn and we were a small elite group.

When computers were relatively new, I set up a database to use at the County Engineer’s Office. Several people said I was a computer genius because I’ve never had any formal computer programming training. Was I a genius? “It Ain’t Necessarily So”. As I told everyone, I just went through the computer User Manual and it laid out how to do it. I’m one of those rare men that read instructions and ask directions, at least before GPS was available.

Well, I could cite dozens of examples over the years, however, in spite of many opinions over the years, I consider myself what I call a “Circumstantial Genius”. In other words, nothing comes naturally but is based on intensive study and reading manuals, etc. I think Thomas Edison’s famous quote is most certainly applicable to my case, “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration”.  If people prefer to call me a genius, then that is their opinion. (Oh, did I mention many geniuses tend to be humble. I have always been very proud of my humility).  

Yikes! I have to post this at once. Bill Gates is calling with a computer question.

“It ain’t necessarily so”. 😉

^^^Mike^^^

“Short Hand” Approach

Hmmm, after years of neglecting my Blog and obsessing on Facebook, now I’m back to my obsession with my Blog! Alas, no doubt the result of needing a change or readjustment in my meds again. Bipolar treatment is not an exact science as I have found by empirical evidence over the years and meds are administered on a purely pragmatic basis. Some meds work to some extent for a while, and then seem ineffective in time. Over the decades my past med list looks like a pharmacy inventory. Be that as it may, here is my now daily latest Blog entry:

I recently purchased another pad of paper for my grocery list. For years I have always used Steno Pads for my list and continue to do so. However, I have noticed the past few years when I purchase a Steno Pad that they are now called a “Writing Pad” and not a Steno Pad. In the old days, they were always known as Steno Pads. They are even laid out the same way they always were with green paper and a red line through the middle. I assume the reason for the name change is that no one uses shorthand anymore. I doubt they still use Dictaphones either. Now days, the boss probably records his dictation on an mp3 recorder, or more likely his Smart Phone has an app for this.

I have always been mystified by short hand. It looks like it was derived from ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics. I remember the old Steno Pads had a short hand “Cheat Sheet” on the back cover probably for secretaries who forgot some of the more commonly used symbols. I also remember that the old Steno Pads had some kind of red coating on the ends so the tablet could be stood on end. The pads I have had over the years have no coating which adds credibility to my theory that short hand is rarely if ever used these days. This brings me to another one of my profound questions: What is the difference between a Pad" and a "Tablet"? Perhaps they are synonymous in definition.

Alas, yet another thing that has vanished from my childhood in this modern society. 😣

<<<MiKe>>>

It’s Official!

I attended my High School Annual Alumni Banquet last night. Since I am “kind of” part of the Alumni Committee because I keep the database and maintain the Facebook Alumni Group Page, I attend every year now. When I first attended my 5th year Alumni, I noticed a whole bunch “old people” whom I recognized very few of. Some were celebrating their 50th year! Well, the years have accelerated at light speed. Last night I was celebrating my 52nd year! I realized that I am officially part of the “Old people”!  Keeping the database of all our small school alumni is getting easier every year. Our Alumni stops at 1968 because in 1969, our school merged with the neighboring small town school and they built a new school. Since the youngest Alumni is now in their late 60’s, we are a shrinking organization. There are now only 637 of us left. The one good thing is that I am not the only “old person” there since all of us are officially “old people”. The final irony would be that if I turn out to be the last surviving member some day. The irony is that while in school, I never cared much for extra curricular activities such as sports, etc. and never had much "school spirit". Fortunately, over the years I have developed a high intensity "school spirit". I am actively involved in the Alumni functions and would rather hang around with my old High School friends than with my college, grad school, or Navy days friends. Rest assured, if I am the sole alumni survivor of my old school I will have the highest "school spirit" of any alumnus that ever lived! 😆

+++Mike+++

A “Narrow” Minded View

During my almost 7 decades of life, I have noticed countless fashions come and go. For example, blue jeans go from tight to baggy and presently back to tight (of which my 1960’s come of age appreciates). Dress hemlines have risen and fallen. Suit lapels have gone from wide to narrow and back. One thing that has always puzzled me is that men’s ties have have gone from wide to a little less wide but never really narrow as they were in the 1960’s. Through the years I have been longing for narrow ties again because they are so much easier to tie especially with my arthritic  laden fingers. Unfortunately, ties have never reverted back to the very narrow 1960’s style. Very puzzling indeed. The irony is that since the present trend is more casual and not wearing ties, I rarely, if ever, wear a tie in church or other places. The only times I have worn a tie over the last few years is when I attend funerals. Therefore; for the present, it doesn’t matter if ties ever go back to narrow again since I so rarely wear one anyway. At least that’s one less thing for me to be concerned about for now. As to when basketball uniform shorts will ever go back to the old masculine short tight style and not look like culottes (ugh) as they presently do, is another matter entirely.

Bonus link! An old story from my website that is germane to this subject:
www.quarterhorse3.us/pegged_pants.html

{{{Mike}}}

"Rushin'" to a Conclusion
My goodness! I just was checking the "Stats" section of my Blog and found some really strange information. I get a lot of views from Russia. I can't figure out why they would be interested on anything my Blog would say. I certainly never put anything on it that would give away any military secrets. I did have a Top Secret clearance when I was in the Navy, but that was so many decades ago, anything I would divulge now would be obsolete decades ago. Perhaps, they are amused by my "off the wall" humor and pragmatic  view of life.  It is nice to know that my profound insights are going world wide, HA! If they are reading this, I'm going to ask them their recommendation for a good Russian salad dressing. 😆

~~Mike~~

Doing some neglected dusting!!!

Yikes! I keep neglecting my once vibrant and ubiquitous Blog. Still addicted to Facebook. Just thought I'd check in for a short time to blow the dust out of my Blog pages.... Alright, a lot of dust is flying here so I'll try and remember to make a more lengthy post is the near future (but don't hold your breath since of late I've been having chronic "Senior Moments"!)  ;-) 

***Mike***

Hoping to "Beat" the Odds

Hmmm, it has been awhile since I have been playing my drums. Alas, the result of this winter really aggravating my arthritis. When I see some of the maladies some other people have, I don't really have much cause to complain too much. Hoping these warmer days of summer will ease the aches of my joints that are rapidly losing cartilage. Nope, I am definitely not growing old gracefully. However, I am thankful that I'm still around to grow old at any rate. In the next day or so I'm going to blow the dust off my drum set and do some good old "jammin' on the drums" which will include solos and accompanying some good old 1960s rock played on a modern CD player. Seems paradoxical that the same music I listened to and played drums to in the 1960s in High School is still being played on the radio over 50 years later. I think that shows the high quality of our music then and has stood the test of time. I won't be playing my drums as animated or fast as I did in the 1960s, but I can still maintain a perfect beat according to one musician who heard me play. I told him keeping a beat is something I believe is inborn, either you have it or you don't and can't learn it. Well, for what it is worth, that is my theory at any rate. Chew on that while...

~MIKE~

My How Time Flies!!!

My goodness! I just now thought about my Blog and noticed it has been almost 2 years since I have posted anything! This is due to the fact that I am still obsessed with Facebook and that I’m at that age of not being able to mutitask anymore. Recently I gave up chewing gum and walking at the same time since I kept forgetting to chew or, if I chewed, I stopped walking. When I was much younger, I could be reading a book, watching T.V., and eat at the same time. Now I have to either do only one task at a time, or not do anything, which I am an expert at since I retired.

Oddly enough, some things I do involuntary and can at those times multitask. For example, ever since Navy Basic Training (or Boot Camp for you landlubbers), I find myself keeping in step when following someone who is walking. Another Navy habit I have to this day is eating fast and making sure my “gig line” is perfectly aligned. (A “gig line” is having your fly hem and shirt buttons hem perfectly aligned and belt buckle perfectly centered. Since I am obsessive compulsive by nature anyway, I don’t find these types of things too worrisome. The Navy did not make me that way; I already was long before and after that. However, it did indeed cause many obsessive compulsions that will dog me the rest of my life. Oh well, at least in these instances I can blame something else. As Curly, one of the Three Stooges used to say, “I’m a victim of circumstance”. NYK NYK NYK

Well, I will not bore you, my beloved readers, with a list of all my obsessive compulsions. My psychiatrist already has had to buy another file cabinet to hold all my patient session records.

Eureka! I have completed a task that has been long neglected! Now, back to Facebook! See ya in another 2 years…

MiKe :-)

“Phony” Logic

These days public phones are a dying breed. Everywhere I look there are very few if any public phones anymore. Several places have removed public phones altogether with the exception of a few places that may still have only one when they formerly had a whole wall lined with them. Even the very few places you can still find an outdoor public phone, the booths are gone and it is an open aired drive up phone. Of course, this is because of the proliferation of cell phones these days.  Just as email has killed the Post Office, cell phones have killed public phones and the income derived from them.

At this point, I must confess that with the extinction of public phones, I reluctantly and against my wishes, purchased a cellular TracPhone after I got married a few years ago. Technically speaking it isn't a regular cell phone and is not meant for everyday use. I wanted to make that very clear so no one would accuse me of being a hypocrite (at least this time.) The ONLY use I have for it is to take on long trips, and its ONLY use is in the event of an emergency while traveling.  There's no monthly fee, it operates on buying time. My rationale for getting it, in spite of the fact I detest cell phones, is that my wife is handicapped and I may need to contact someone if she has any sudden physical problems during a rare long trip. The phone number is unpublished and no one else has it.

Well, as long as I'm on this expedition, yet another reason I don't like cell phones is when I'm out shopping or for that matter, anywhere in public, people's cell phones are always ringing. At least the latest cell phone fad is to have music play when a call comes in, and not that irritating electronic ring sound. I've rarely, if ever, have heard any conversations that served any useful purpose. The following is a typical example of the kinds of one-sided "important" cell phone conversations I often overhear:

Harpsichord music... Hello... Oh, hi Lyle what's up?... I'm not doing anything right now either... I don't know what I'm doing tonight... Oh, you either... I'm at Wal-Mart right now and walking down the laxative aisle... Yeah, they have all colors... Huh? Your cell phone faded and I only got 2 or 3 words... Oh, you didn't get all of my last words either... I said they have all different colors of laxatives in this aisle...No, I don't see any speckled ones... Now I'm just starting to go past the ladies underwear section... Huh?... I don't know if they still make Playtex Living Bras, how would I know, you'd have to ask my wife... Oh all right, wait a minute, I'll go back and look... I said wait a minute and I'll go back and look... I said I'll look... LOOK LOOK!... Hey Lyle, please don't tell any of the other guys at the Yugo plant that I'm looking for Playtex Living Bras!... Well, you know how Sidney is... ha ha yeah right... Hey, there's some dust on the floor... I said there's some dust on the floor... THERE'S SOME DUST ON THE FLOOR!!!!! Hello, Hello, LYLE? LYLE? Are you there? STUPID cell phones!!!!!!...... (Same guy 4.68 seconds after losing Lyle on his cell phone) Harpsichord music... Oh, hi Walter what's up?... I'm not doing anything right now either... I don't know what I'm doing tonight... Oh, you either... I'm at Wal-Mart right now and I'm walking through the house wares aisle... By this time, I've started to make  yet another hasty retreat to another section of Wal-Mart only to hear more electronic music in that section! UGHHHH! As Martha and the Vandellas so fittingly sung it in 1964, "No where to run to, baby nowhere to hide..."!!!

If cell phones aren’t bad enough, texting really puzzles me. If someone wants to talk to someone, why bother with texting? Wouldn’t it be easier just to call them? Well, that’s a subject for a future post.

Blog Entry 2.0

I decided to blow the dust off my old Blog that was once teaming with daily and twice daily postings. I noticed that almost a year ago practically to the day I made a MEMO to myself to post entries more often. Well, I see I didn't keep that intent. Maybe I had better do that now since it appears I will get yearly reminders from my deepest subconscious mind to post something. My problem is that Facebook still has me in its powerful grip.

I noticed that since I was here a year ago, sometime during that time they changed the format of Blog entries. They call it "improvements"- I call it aggravation due no doubt to the desire to keep all their software engineers employed. It is somewhat more difficult to navigate the site now. I've noticed that on several web sites these days. It is a trend to make things more complicated. Either it is a major conspiracy or I'm getting older and can't figure things out like I used to. Wait.... I'm sure it's a major conspiracy. I don't like to ever admit I'm getting older and slower. At least I will admit I'm not growing old gracefully.

I shall add more later. Hmmm, "later" could be a year from now or maybe sooner. I shall see....
Mike :-)

Memo to Self

MEMO

To: Self
Re: BLOG Postings

Try to make new BLOG postings more often than once every time there is a 2nd blue moon on the 2nd Tuesday of months with letters that start with "F".

Regards,
Self

Making My "Case"

For a long time I have wondered, "What's with some people typing postings and other things all in lower case letters?" It always aggravates me when I see that. It really aggravates me when I see it on web sites where there are people's names on memorials on Findagrave.com which are used for genealogical research and they are either all in lower case letters or their middle initial is. I'm so used to using proper case, that even when the rare times I chat on Facebook I always use the proper capitalization for sentences and names and so do all the people my age. Obviously it is a result of those my age that learned English long before computers and texting. It is in our genes.

One day it finally hit me. I have never texted nor ever intend to. I'm assuming that when one sends a text that there is no way to make capital letters. I'll have to defer to someone who does text to answer that. That would indeed explain how people get into that habit. I sure wish they would change gears and use the proper case when not texting. This leads me to another paradox. When people have a cell phone wouldn't it be a whole lot easier just to talk to someone as opposed to sending a text with those tiny keyboards? I don't think I could even send a text if I wanted to since my fingers are so large. Oh well, another mystery to add to my growing list.

Oh, by the way, as long as I'm on the subject... It is also a mystery to me why there are so many spelling errors in things like newspapers, etc. that I'm sure are created by word processors that have spell check. Consequently, I can never understand why people don't use it when they publish things with such obvious spelling errors.

Is it just me, or has the world passed me by? I suspect the former as opposed to the latter.
8>}

A "Boring" Time

My goodness! This is the 2nd entry I've made in only 2 weeks! Indeed, the wonders never cease! I'm just killing time until my after lunch dentist appointment. I've already made myself a nuisance on Facebook, so I thought I'd make myself a nuisance here until the appointment time.

I'm probably one of the few people my age who still have their original teeth, which is a miracle in itself considering how I've seriously abused them my whole life. Every time I go to see my dentist I always request her to pull all of my teeth and get me dentures. Of course she always tells me I should keep my teeth. I think having dentures is very beneficial because if there's any problems, I can just drop them off at the dentist and come and pick them up later. Hopefully in the mean time I wouldn't get an obsessive uncontrollable urge for rock candy or jaw breakers and such.

It's ironic that as many years as I have been going to her that she always asked me if I take Novocaine. My answer is always the same, "Yes, unless you want to scrape me off the ceiling the first time you touch any tooth." I also always make a song request for her to try and find, "Comfortably Numb" by Pink Floyd. She always laughs but I'm never sure if she actually forgets my wise crack or is just being polite. I'd like to think her memory is getting as bad as mine and she thinks it's the first time she has ever heard it.

Well, it's getting close to the time I must leave. It's ironic that going to a dentist is that you pay a lot of money for something you neither like or want. I'll just add that to my list of hundreds or life's ironies I will never understand.....
Later...

Bumper Stickers Revisited...

My goodness! I noticed that the last time I posted on here was April! I guess my New Year's Resolution to post more Blog stuff is found lacking.

Well, let's see what fascinating entry I can conger up. I recently acquired another one of my all time favorite vehicles, (other than a 1957 Ford which stems from my Baby Boomer genes). I have another Ford Ranger. It's a 2001 with just over 100,000 miles which is low for a 2001 Ranger. Now I have my 2 favorite modern vehicles: a Jeep Wrangler and a Ford Ranger. Now I can haul bags of horse feed in the truck bed and not in the rear of the Jeep. I love the smell of molasses horse sweet feed, but all the little pieces of oats and corn that amass on the rear Jeep carpet were getting aggravating.

Now I (finally) come to my main thesis of this Blog post. Shortly after I got the truck, I went out to find a bumper sticker for it. I seem to have a bumper sticker compulsion, (so what's one more).

Freshly applied bumper sticker on my Ranger (A reminder of my Navy days)

I wrote a story about bumper stickers on my web site a few years ago. I can just save time and post the link so I can keep this entry short. HEE HEE. The story link:
http://www.quarterhorse3.us/bumper_snickers.html

This is me (no April) Fooling

Well, I see its April Fool's Day. You could have fooled me. When I was a kid, we used to really take this day seriously. On the other hand, it certainly didn't even come anywhere close to Christmas, which is the biggest day in a kid's life.

Now after all these years, it's just another day and one that hopefully no one will play any April Fool jokes on me. I always am on guard the whole day from 12:01AM April 1 until 12:01 AM April 2. You can never be too sure about some people who seem to live for this day.

When Tim and I were kids, we came up with what we always thought was THE quintessential April Fool's day joke. We always wanted to switch the salt with the sugar. Now that is really "down and dirty". The irony of it all was that I cannot recall that we ever actually did it.

Oh well, I shall get back to my vigilance in watching for any jokes on me.

Until later,

"Time" for Another Entry

Is it my imagination, or does the time change date keep getting later? It seemed when I was a kid, the time change to EST was in early October now it's early November. Be that as it may, I'm starting the "fall behind" clock settings early this time. I have already changed the easy ones which includes the vehicles and the bedroom digital clocks. The reason I have to get at least a 10-hour head start is that I have so many of them to change. Here's a list that I can think of at the moment, there may be more added later that I forgot about:

1. The kitchen wall clock

2. The electric range clock

3. The microwave clock

4. The Jeep clock

5. The living room DVD player clock

6. The 2 bedroom clocks

7. The DVD player in the bedroom

8. The living room wall clock

9. Ava's wristwatch

10. The clock on the VCR tape player (Yeah, I still have a few of those relics lying around).

11. The short wave radio clock

Fortunately, the other clocks change the time themselves.

I have not worn a wristwatch in years. I don’t need to because starting in the kitchen where I am happily pounding away at the computer keys, I can see the current time in the following devices:

1. Desktop computer

2. Laptop computer

3. Short wave radio

4. Electric range

5. Microwave

6. Cell phone

7. Brinks Alarm Console

8. Caller ID machine

9. The phone call router (This little gem is a product of modern technology to eliminate junk calls. I'll describe this wonder of American engineering and Chinese construction some other time).

10. Cordless phone

11. Kitchen wall clock

12. Voice mail machine

The living room:

1. Wall clock

2. TV clock

3. DVD player clock

4. Cordless phone clock

5. The wireless weather station clock (This has an atomic clock which is self setting and is accurate to something like .0000000009999 second every million years or so, which I guess is close enough for me. However, during a nuclear attack, it will probably end up a few billionths of a second off).

6. Ava's wristwatch, that I never see her take off. (I think she was born with it on her wrist)

Outside:

1. The vehicle clock

2. The cell phone

The bedroom:

1. Alarm clock

2. The other alarm clock

3. TV clock

4. DVD player clock

5. VCR tape player clock

Let's see, that's 23 clocks so far. I'm SURE there are more, but I will think of them about 2 seconds after I post this Blog entry. I always lament the fact that they never give the time on the radio anymore, but then it dawned on me... Why should they? It would be redundant with so many clocks around us! Well, it's "time" I posted this and get back to setting all the timepieces around here an hour back. I want to beat the rush and not have to get up at 2:00 AM to do it. Later.....

{}MiKe{}