'Whatchutalkinbout, Willis?'

-line from the tv show Diff'rent Strokes



(via Donna at Changing Places)

John Schwenkler used a software program called Wordle to create these graphic word piles showing which subjects are getting the most play at both John McCain's and Barack Obama's blogs. Interesting how McCain's campaign is so focused on Barack Obama, isn't it?

(Original graphic from the Boston Globe here. It may be easier to read.)

Rain, Glorious Rain

My Canna Lily leaves. What looks like damage done by someone with a 3-hole punch is actually the aftermath of hunger grasshoppers. Lots of grasshoppers this year (bad) along with lots of rain (good).

True Or False?

- Bigfoot found.

-Chinese gymnast really is sixteen years old.

-Harry Potter fans are not going to be upset by the delay in the release of the sixth Harry Potter movie.

And lastly,

-Most scientific research projects are just bad science.

Water, Water Everywhere

It is kind of interesting how when you notice something once, you start seeing the thing you noticed everywhere. You know, like pregnant women if you or someone you know is pregnant of a certain make or color of car after you buy one yourself. This morning when I took Kate for a walk around the block I noticed my water meter out by the street:

(click on photos to enlarge)
On the cover are written the words: FORD METER BOX CO., WATER, METER, TYPE, X, WABASH INDIANA.

When I walked passed my neighbor's water meter I glanced down and saw:


On its cover are the words: UNITED FOUNDRY, WATER, METER, DENVER.

My curiosity was up and around the corner I find a water meter in the driveway of another neighbor and stop to look at it:


On its cover are written the words: MUELLER CO., WATER, METER, DECATUR ILLINOIS.

Now I start checking all the water meters covers I come across and find one more made in Denver, one more made in Decatur, and three more made in Wabash. I then see two larger ones in the middle of the street and go to look at them:


At first I am confused by the S but then I look at the other cover:


Ahh, WATER, of course, the S means sewer.

As I continue our walk I wonder just how many different types of manhole and water meter covers there are embedded in the streets, sidewalks, and front yards of town.

Pinky Toe

Hark, wee pinky toe
Unnoticed, tiny, deformed
What is your purpose?
-author unknown

The pinky toe is the little toe on the outer edge of the foot. Also know as a little piggy it is the one that went " wee, wee, wee, all the way home." This little toe consist of three bones called phalanges. The bone with the nail on it is called the distal phalange, the bone connected to the metatarsus (long bones making up the sole of the foot) is called the proximal phalange, while the bone connected to the proximal and distal phalange is ingeniously called the middle phalange.

Now, there are a lot of things that can happen to the pinky toe when cramming it into a shoe. It can develop corns, calluses, blisters, or become crooked (known as hammer toe). The nail can also develop problems becoming ingrown or infected with a fungus. Then there is the painful condition known as a bunionette or tailors bunion first noticed on tailors centuries ago. It is said that the painful bump that sometimes appeared on their pinky toes was caused by those toes being pressed into the ground as the worked sitting cross-legged.

Although you may develop anyone of these toe problems in your lifetime, you are more likely to do damage to your toe while walking barefoot. This damage is usually caused by spraining your interphalangal joint or, as it is more commonly known, stubbing your toe. I managed to do this yesterday afternoon when I banged my toe into the leg of my coffee table. Today my right pinky toe is very swollen, a beautiful shade of royal purple, and tender.

This week is definitely not starting well for me.

i get banged up a lot,
like a pinky toe
on coffee table legs, and
rocks buried in the snow
you should leave your jacket outside,
inside's too warm
it's just a thought;
you'll wear what you've always worn

i get banged up (oh)
i get banged up (oh)

i get banged up a lot,
like a pinky toe
on escalator steps and
welcome mats that say hello
-Lyics from Pinky Toe by A Weather

Sorry I'm Late

I would have been back yesterday if I had not had a migraine Sunday. I made the mistake of fighting it as to not go into a full blown attack which only caused it to bounce back yesterday. Feeling better today but still a bit shaky.

While I was gone a few things happened around here. First, the weather got better. When I left the temperature at bedtime was mostly in the low 90'sF/30'sC -last night the thermometer was reading 67F/19.4C when I put the dogs out for the last time and it dropped down to 60F/15.5C during the night.

Next, speaking of dogs, my dog Kate is feeling well enough to run up to me every so often with her tail wagging, her eyes sparkling, and a great big smile on her face that says, "Say, I have a great idea, let's get me some more food!"
The change is remarkable.

My time away also came at fair week and as usual my husband and I did our civic duty and volunteered to work a shift one night. And as usual the best part was the excitement shown by the kids. Fair week is a big deal around here and we were lucky enough to have it fall during cooler weather and just after a couple of big rainstorms. No eating dust at the demolition derby this year. Not that I went, it just make it easier breathing all though the fairgrounds when there is no dust being stirred up by a bunch of cars tearing around on the arena dirt.

Finally, there was another death in town last week. A nineteen year old boy killed himself with a shot gun. I did not know him personally but I do know his mother by sight. As if the death wasn't shocking enough word got around that the young man had left a note to his family saying that since they did not appreciate him while he was alive maybe they would now that he was dead. That poor mixed-up kid. As I have pointed out before suicide can sometime be the ultimate F-you.

Now, if that wasn't bad enough I found out that someone in town decided that he/she had a duty to tell this boy's mother that she (the mother) was responsible for his death. The cruelty and stupidity of some people is amazing to me. I'll bet you a hundred dollars that this person considers him or herself a good christian.

After reading what I wrote I see that I could have titled this post, The Bad, The Good, and The Ugly. The Ugly really bothers me but as Albert Einstein once said, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe.”

He got that right.

Hot Town

Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
-Lyric from Summer In The City by The Lovin' Spoonful

All up and down the western plains the temperature is forecast to reach the low hundreds for the next four days. Add that to higher humidity readings than normal and you have a recipe for misery. This morning I mowed the lawn and by the end I was hot, sticky, and dripping. The temperature was 85F with the humidity at 62%, which translated to a heat index reading of 90F/32C.

I am sure some of you are sneering at me for complaining about the humidity being "only" 62% but remember I grew up in Colorado (see number 6 on You're From Colorado If list). I am used to practically no humidity. When I went running for the first time after my husband and I moved to Tampa, Florida I started perspiring profusely and felt very weak. I turned around and returned to our apartment convinced that I was ill and had just had a fever I did not know about break. When I told my husband this he started laughing (he had lived in Texas for four years) and then explained how humidity, perspiration, and evaporation worked. I never did get used to the feeling of my running clothes hanging wet and sticky on me during a run the entire time I was down there.

Anyway, like I said it is going to be miserable for the next several days and the thought of it makes me want to spend each day just lying in front of the a/c with a pitcher of ice cold lemonade and a stack of books ignoring the heat, humidity, and the outside world. To accomplish that goal I am also going to take a short break from blogging. See you all on Monday the eleventh.