Hidden Tears

My youngest child turned 40 today.

At dinner at his favorite restaurant, a really fine Lebanese place with excellent lamb, he turned to me and said

“I remember avoiding time spent with my parents. It always seemed cooler to go out and get high or hang out. Now I enjoy having dinner with you, I look forward to it.”

I wanted desperately to say something funny, or profound but I could not find the words.

I just looked at him with new eyes and “I know. I wish my Dad could be here too.”

Life goes round in a circle while moving on.

 

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Don Rickles

I would be amiss to not write something about Don Rickles. He was the king of the back handed compliment. He recognized people which is good then he went for the stereotype. He teased all people so no one got hurt. I have not watched all his stuff but from what I saw his was a gentle humor. He got people to laugh and themselves and at him.

Good humor is a gift. It is a mixture of the crazy with the truth. It gets past people’s defenses and leaves a lasting impression. It can be a surgical strike that changes the subject in a great way. It can change the mood so people can get along.

What I noticed about Rickles when he roasted someone, he got … Continue reading

The Case for Christ

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The movie based on Lee Strobel’s book hits theaters today. The trailer and previews look outstanding and the subject is timely both with respect to Easter approaching and society’s current decline to secular hell.

There seems a trend that in effort to reach mass movie audiences important books are often abridged onto the big screen. Given the importance of the subject I am concerned the movie may not do the book and subject justice so I read the book last week. Apparently I wasn’t paying close attention when downloading the book and purchased a study version of it complete with questions at the end of each chapter, a … Continue reading

Doing the Unthinkable

You may ask what that could possibly be. This might conjure up many images. What is the one think that we almost never do?

[Intentional pause in writing.]

[Flippant pause in writing.]

[Hi, mom!!!]

Okay, that is enough. I figure if you are still here I would tell you. I am reading the manual. Yes, I was looking for a book to read and I thought, “Why don’t I figure out how my cell phone works?” I have an iPhone 7 so I checked some books on Amazon. Then I remembered that in iBooks there is a free manual. I like free. I downloaded it and I am reading it. I have learned about some new features that I did not know I had. Ex. 3 D Touch … Continue reading

Fried Rice and Rickroll…

So far, not too bad. The economy is picking up steam, we found out Paul Ryan is not a demigod,  the massive proof of Russian influence keeps promising to be right around the corner and suddenly the whole intelligence services will destroy the new guy looks to be a rather large boomerang.

The lesson being taught is how to keep moving forward and never apologize.

The opposition keeps talking to their own bubble.

I truly believe the progressive pols and media are thinking  this may not have the ending they thought…

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When you annoy the beast, the beast acts, well, you know….. Beastly.

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The New Black is Black

 

I never heard of this before which means John Walker has and can tell me the patent number from memory.  H/T to Instapundit.

The new black is Vantablack. It is “the darkest substance ever made”.  It is not 100% but it comes mighty close.

Ultra low reflectance: Vantablack absorbs 99.965% of light (750nm wavelength)

At the link it has a few video to show its properties. At that absorption of light, 3D images look 2D. The wrinkles look flat on a crinkly piece of foil when the back side is cover in the stuff. Also the page says “lasers don’t reflect” off the stuff.

Besides Mike LaRoche getting his new black book in Vantablack what other usages are there?

 

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Nothing Lasts Forever

Nothing Lasts Forever

Car

I am dealing with a remarkable day of trivial loss. I was going to buy a car yesterday, but I was quite tired, and re-scheduled the test drive for today. Somebody else bought the car. Too bad, as it was a honey, and a steal for a thousand bucks.  A 2002 Toyota Estima van with one ding on the side, otherwise clean inside and out. Supposed to run great, recently passed inspection, and has two new tires. All four tire match, and I’m hard-pressed to identify the two new ones — all in great shape. Therefore, I suspect that they were the fronts, as aggressive driving with front-wheel drive simply eats tires.

Frankly, I don’t mind driving a car that may have been driven … Continue reading

Don’t Lose This

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http://www.professorsolomon.com/graphics/howtofindlostobjects.pdf

H/T to Instapundit and the New York Times.

I followed the link and will put this short book (146 pages) on the hamper library shelf. There are twelve principles so Brent you will have to use not only both hands but two toes to remember them.

[Edit. I am putting this thread up so I don’t lose the link to this post.)

Here is a Kindle link.

https://www.amazon.com/Find-Lost-Objects-Professor-Solomon-ebook/dp/B007O0AOJQ/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

I will read this in a few days.

 

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