31 October 05 - 21:50Happy Halloween
Thanks to NASA for this timely fellow. Here he is running along on Halloween evening. I have always felt that there is something scary about skeletons. I think that I find them scary because I saw a movie where there were skeletons that popped out of the ground and gave the heroes a very good run for their money. I think it was “Jason and the Argonauts”, but I can’t be sure.
Something about this slender gentleman reminds me of Michael Jackson. It is sort of like a “moon run” that he is doing here, maybe that’s it.
Have a happy halloween.
Hold the presses, I have just read another news article which states that Osama is alive!! The article further states that he has bad kidneys and needs dialysis twice a week. No wonder he is so hard to find. A person like that must blend right in to the surroundings. Where would you look for him?
As I reflect on this a bit more, its a wonder that Bush got any accurate information from the CIA. If they can’t find a guy in the mountains with a dialysis machine, there is something wrong. All they need to do is look for the extension cord back to town. However, that may no longer be possible. A recent picture of Osama (seen here) indicates that he has converted to a portable model of the dialysis machine.
Now we will have to redouble our efforts to find him. He could be anywhere. The Ladens can put the silk flowers and the empty coffin back in storage.
I hear Bin Laden is dead again. One of the most interesting things about the world today, second to politicians, is the news reporting that comes from the middle east.
Bin Laden is a source of some of that interest as it was his arab club that seems to support chaos in the world. I remember when I joined the Masons that I was told by many of my friends who were “in the know” that it was a very dark organization (it is not). My idea of a dark organizaton is Al Qaeda. Nothing better to do than blow things up and stuff. Masons mostly seem stuck on helping people who need help. Different types of organizations, you see.
I guess when Binny was younger, he became rebellious of his parent’s construction business in Saudi Arabia. Acting out his rebellious emotions, he started destroying things. As time passed he found that he could convince others to join him as long as he had a really good excuse for the destruction. Rembembering going to church with his parents as a child, he hit on the concept of Jihad which had been explained to him by his Sunday school teachers. This Jihad was a tailor made concept for the forming of that chaotic club soon to be known as Al Qaeda.
Now I hear that Bin Laden is dead again. Why? He hasn’t shot his mouth off in a year, so he must be dead. This guy has been dead so many times, the family uses silk flowers for the funerals. I will not believe he is dead until he lies in state with flowers around him.
Then it will be time for Uncle Binny to rest in peace…
Although my first car was red, it was this type of car. This is a Morris Minor 1000, 1960 model. It gets it’s name from the company that makes it, it’s size, and it’s engine size. The car was made by Morris Garages and had a 1000 cc (1 liter) engine. The Minor had a smaller cousin the Mini. The Mini was smaller. This car was about the size of the old Volkswagen Beetle.
Strangely enough, my second car was also made by Morris Garages. It was a 1968 MGB. About the same size, but it was a convertible sports car. Much classier.
Oh, yes, the Morris had a 5 gallon gas tank. When I was a kid a dollars worth of gas would just about fill it and it drove for a long long time…..
You have to admit, this type of car has a certain character.
I have been shopping for a new car. I like large cars. I have been looking at Lincolns. I think it would be neat to have a car that was named after me. I have even test driven a Lincoln Town Car (1996 vintage) and found it to be quite fun.
I think cars should be fun, cheap, and large… Well OK, I have owned some small cars (look up Morris Minor 1000). They were fun, too.
Perhaps something smaller than a land yacht would do. I’ll keep you posted.
Out of the clear blue sky I received an email. It was very strange. It was signed by me!! There are very few Lincoln’s out there, but I have only suspected that there are other Lincoln Armstrongs. Here is the message I received:
I feel kinda weird doing this, but I think I’ve spoken with some of your family while living in Houston. Around 1999 I was living in Houston and received a few calls from people asking to speak with my children. I was a college student at the time so this took me a bit by surprise. After talking with my grandparents, they claimed they had tried to talk with me and they _did_ find a Lincoln Armstrong, but it wasn’t me.
I looked in the book, and lo and behold there was another Lincoln Armstrong out there. After awhile of living in Houston this magical person had unfortunately disappeared (by 2003 I think). I was a slight bit sad. Yet, here I am today googleing myself and came across 
A piece of information that is sometimes confusing is the fact that the Dutchman who lost the mine was probably not a Dutchman at all. Fact is he was a German or Deutsch man. It was easy enough to make such a mistake. As the Deutschman was flying around trying to figure out where he left his mine he was asked why he had such a funny accent.
As he flew by he yelled back that he was a Deutsch man. This was misunderstood as being a Dutchman. There is also a new theory that as he flew by he also yelled, “I have lost my mind!!” Which was also misunderstood.
Anyway, the lost Dutchman mine has not been found, either because it is very lost or because it is not really there.
Get those metal detectors and find that mine!! Also, on a dark and cloudy night, the Deutschman can still be heard flying through the Superstition Mountains. Listen carefully when you see him. Is he saying, “I lost my mine” or “I lost my mind’? I have also heard that he has several colors of flying wooden shoes, so make no mistake. If you see a German flying a Dutch shoe of any color. Its him.
I have a new idea for making money. All that is required is a metal detector and time. 
I promised to let everyone know about the polyps. The doctor’s office called last Thursday and indicated that they were benign. Sorry about the informational delay. The next spelunking of the great behind will be in five years. That is fine with me!
I have been real busy getting screwed lately, It has been time consuming and, although not pleasant, it has been food for thought. Let’s consider the couple I had trusted with my property in Tucson. They are simply criminals. No doubt about it. The fact of it is, however, they will probably get away with it. In fact, as I have had various drubbings lately it makes me wonder if Diongenes were alive today if he would have any better luck finding an honest man than he did back in the really old days. Heck, he didn’t even have a decent lie detector back then.
Let’s call the folks I had managing my property B and S or simply BS for short. BS gave me all sorts of stories of how the previous property management group did not do the job and how their unique combination of experiance and desire would allow them to be great property managers. My only concern was “could they do it.” They had been neighbors of mine and seemed to be ordinary average people. I had no reason to suspect they would steal from me.
Although the final tab isn’t in, it looks likely that BS took me for money in the $5,000 range. Not only that, they were horrible property managers. When I visited the property, it looked like a slum. This was after they spent tons of money (so they said) keeping it up.
Somehow I don’t believe them. Since it will be hard to motivate the legal system to untangle this, I may as well turn the other cheek. After all, I have four of them.
Firestone certainly won’t win any awards for this one, but we have almost closed the books. The lawyers don’t seem to want to work on cases (even if they are paid, incidentally) unless there is a chance for “big dough.” That makes it is hard to get a good lawyer to work on a case like this. As a result, the game goes to those with the least honesty, Firestone. They have decided through their corporate mechanisms that the Buick was old, so that absolves them of any need to be accountable for their actions. Here is the summary:
1) Engine light comes on in car. Otherwise, the car runs fine!!
2) Three trips to Firestone and a week and a half of time required for all work done.
3) Firestone eventually incorrectly decided the timing chain was the culprit.
4) Firestone opened up the engine twice to effect the timing chain repair as they had not really solved the problem and actually had now created a situation where the car did not run properly.
5) Remember, the car had good oil pressure and ran when I took it in.
6) After Firestone completed their work the car had poor oil pressure and did not run. Never a good sign.
7) Low oil pressure was caused during work, likely due to bearing damage caused at the point when Firestone tryed to get the car running after the timing chain replacement.
8) Firestone gave up and was forced to transport the car to the dealer for repairs.
8) The dealer correctly identified the computer as the cause of the trouble, but the car was likely already damaged.
9) I pick up the car and point out the oil pressure is seriously low, far lower than when the car was brought in (and the water level low light was on).
10) Firestone tells me that the oil pressure is not a problem and adds thicker oil, I am suspicious
11) The car blows up the next day 500 miles later on the highway
12) Firestone absolves themselves of any responsibility.
Here’s another piece of information. The adjuster that was hired by Firestone indicated in his report that the car was a Buick LaSabre. It is a Park Avenue, a car which shares a similar body, but does have tags on it plainly stating the name of the car.
Yes, 140,000 miles on the car indicates it is not new, but come-on boys, admit it when you screw up. Don’t hide behind an “adjuster.”
A car is a significant investment for anyone. Poor workmanship and dishonesty are enough reasons for me to avoid Firestone for a long period of time.
In all fairness, Firestone did admit the car didn’t run when they finished the initial 8 day repair cycle, probably because they thought I would notice when I tried to drive it home and it wouldn’t move.
It’s My Honey’s birthday today. Although I will not reveal how old she is, I can tell you she was born the same year as Condoleezza Rice. I know this would be all right to mention since Condoleeza was also a member of the favorite daughter’s sororiety. Sorta lends a dignified air to everything.
More hints? Others born the same year include Oprah, Jerry Seinfeld, Ron Howard, and Godzilla. You figure it out!!
Happy Birthday My Honey!! :D
As Doctor Bogus (really his name) steered through Colon Cavern the most interesting thing to note was this pair of stalactites which he described as polyps. Even though whenever I have been to a cave they really frown on the taking of anything but pictures and memories, the polyps are now reduced to picture and memory….. and presumably biopsy.
The doctor is equipped with gear to remove these little ornaments and as a matter of standard procedure they do. To make sure they are not going to be signs of a bigger problem in the future, they send them to one of their friends to do a biopsy. Hopefully that is merely perfunctary, as that is what the doctor’s opinion was without scientific backup.
Perhaps we can include more scenes from the cave in a later article, but I am really hoping other, more interesting things happen.
Like with the car!
The big day was yesterday. I had the old colon explored by my new GI doctor. My usual doctor (who I hold in great esteem) recommended me to a group of doctors who do this sort of thing. When setting up the appointment I indicated I had no preference in doctors.
Once the day arrived and my name tag was placed on my arm I looked at it and immediately noted my doctor's name. I was a bit surprised when I saw my derrier detective's name was listed as "Bogus." That's right, the doctor who would be driving through the caverns of my great behind was named Dr. Bogus.
Although I was asleep at the time, Dr. Bogus rambled through my subterrane and produced pictures. I will make another entry later today to show you my two little polyp friends that the good doctor found for me. Stay tuned.
A colonoscope sounds ordinary enough. It is used to do colonoscopies. The type of thing you hear all the time in everyday conversations. No real need to be apprehensive. I look up colonoscopy. What is it anyway?
“Colonoscopy is the procedure of evaluating the lining of the colon to check for medical problems.” Again, it sounds straightforward enough. Whatever it is, I am having a pleasant evening anticipating the procedure tomorrow.
Stay tuned.
One of my biggest disappointments in life is the ethereal relationship we have with God. The word means delicate, airy, filmy, fine, gaseous, ghostly, gossamer, impalpable, insubstantial, intangible, rarefied, subtle, supernal, tenuous, unearthly, unsubstantial, unworldly, vaporous, or vapory. I would like this relationship to be substantial which means abundant, ample, big, consequential, considerable, durable, extraordinary, firm, generous, goodly, heavy, heavyweight, hefty, key, large, major league, massive, material, meaningful, momentous, plentiful, principal, serious, significant, sizable, solid, sound, stable, steady, stout, strong, sturdy, superabundant, vast, or weighty.
I used a thesaurus to mine these words, but the point is the reality of the situation. We are equipped with an extremely weak and unreliable receiver when it comes to talking to and listening to God.
I was fascinated a few years back with the popular sone “What if God was One of Us” as performed by Joan Osborne. The closed minded were freaking out over the lyrics while I pondered the possibilities. What if? What if God lives each day beside us, riding the bus, living in a house or apartment, knowing what we know, living like we live? Why must he live in heaven, an ivory tower, or a single location?
Some people hate to think. It makes life more interesting, however. You should try it.
October 13 is Yom Kippur. It is more than Jewish New Year. It is a day to atone. A time to make amends and reflect on life. Your life.
Whatever you do, be a Mensch. Roughly translated, that means to do what it takes to be part of the human race.
Happy Yom Kippur!!
I have been watching the first year of the HBO series “Deadwood” on DVD. Here comes that reading between the lines thing again. This series runs the entire gamut between real and disgusting, yet it is fascinating.
When I was in English classes in my college days and high school days (and when you were in these classes if you listened) the English teachers always talked about the different “levels” that a story, novel, movie, “work” communicates with us. This work (Deadwood) is certainly a work with many different levels of content.
On one level it is disgusting, yet at another level it is realistic. This helps to remind us that reality is sometimes disgusting, and we really don’t need to be reminded of it, do we???
Produced by David Milch (“NYPD Blue”), 
I remember from my schoolboy days being told “read between the lines.” Often this was part of a poor taste joke with gestures. The idea of reading between the lines came to me slowly. Recently I have been learning to look for links between depression and creativity. I became interested in this while watching the movie “A Beautiful Mind.” To follow through I also read the book. It was apparent that genius does not come easily. Many geniuses seem to lead troubled lives. Short temper is a sign of depression.
I recently read about the first man in the United States to truely invent and build motorcars. He is the holder of over 100 automotive patents. Yet, because of his temper (read between the lines) he made a couple of unusual lapses in judgement. His name? Alexander Winton.
The first lapse: after interviewing Henry Ford he determined that Henry did not have what it took to make Wintons. The second, he told James W. Packard “If you don’t like the car, why don’t you build your own?”
Packard built cars carrying his own name as did Henry Ford. Both were more successful than Winton in the long haul, Ford automobiles are, of course, still made.
Was it a bust for Winton? Probably not. Thank him for handy little features in cars like steering wheels (rather than tillers) and (one of his better ideas) brakes.
Since up until now I have felt that 
The map (above) shows where Van Horn is located. My car broke down just to the east of that fine city. You will see the region of the world is labeled.
This place was precisely 124 miles from El Paso, pretty much in the middle of nowhere.
If it is possible to inherit a tendency to assign an unjustified belief in human worth to those undeserving, I have inherited it. Through a series of circumstances I purchased some real estate in Arizona while living there. Through additional circumstance I moved back to the Dallas area while I still owned these properties.
The original property manager I hired did not work out. He did not have the energy to build up the rentals and keep them rented. One of the renters offered to be a property manager and spoke with great interest about how he would work hard to build up the rentals and how his new wife was experienced in this sort of management. These folks, in their forties, did not have any qualifications other than an apparent desire.
Things worked out for a while, then, over two months worth of rent money was not deposited.
Needless to say, there is now, again, a new property manager as well as a lawyer that will be taking care of the property and the manager, in that order.
More on the screwing I took later when the details come in.
Whatever happened, the failure started with the oil pressure light showing red at a rest area. Since I was told that this was nothing to worry by the mechanics (based on oil pressure specific inspections be the mechanics the day before), I started moving down the road. The oil pressure did not come up as high as it had been running and as I carefully puzzled over the oil pressure, it dropped suddenly and the temperature came up instantly from normal to hot, the power dropped off and I pulled to the side of the road with steam billowing from under the hood. I opened the hood to make sure it was only steam, and found that the steam was blowing out of the overflow container.
Now that the car has been looked at I know that a head gasket was blown. That explains the rapid temerature rise. The temperature rise occurs when the pressurized cooling system is compromised at the head when the gasket blew out.
Since the nice repair people need to have their insurance adjuster look at the car, this will probably get complicated. This event was only the beginning of a wonderfull trip to Arizona. More on that later.
Is there a lawyer in the house?