Reality Me

Blog

  • Thought of the day

    Hey! I bought a lottery ticket last night. I wonder if I’m rich.

    I played bingo once in Dallas, TX. What I learned was that you might have a winning card but because of the pace of the game, or trying to play too many cards at once, you can overlook the win and give the game away to someone else. So it begs the question, how many times do people buy winning lottery tickets and never check them? I’m not talking necessarily about the jackpot. When millions of dollars go unclaimed, that tends to make the news; but the occasionally win that is not the jackpot could go overlooked. What if I’m sitting on a $200,000 ticket? Wouldn’t my day be a little less stressful, if I knew?

    The odds of that being a winning ticket are slim to none. However, the thrill of the possibility of being a winner is well worth the $1 and well worth delaying a glance at the ticket just a while longer.

  • Inhale

    You know what I shouldn’t have to remind myself to do? Breath! I shouldn’t have to remind myself to breath. I have awake apnea.

  • Deep Thoughts

    Children – Nature’s prophylactic

  • From the mouths of babes

    Cathy: "Normal people don’t name flies."

  • My war with Mother Nature – mosquitoes

    I really have noticed any mosquitoes in the yard yet but yesterday I fired up the mosquito magnet. 24 hours later, there are already 2 mosquitoes in the trap. Now, the Mosquito Magnet is not a bug zapper. It’s goal is to attract the mosquitoes away from the parts of the yard the humans like but in the process it occasionally sucks up a critter or two into the trap and over time reduces the overall breeding population.

  • My war with Mother Nature

    We are nearing the end of the weekend project (ie. Amy’s birthday present from June 10th of last year). As we put on the finishing touches, carpenter bees have moved in to try to dismantle the club house. I’ve skipped earth friendly methods and gone straight to chemicals. I shall be victorious!

  • Quote of the Day

    A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not why ships are built. [Source, fortune cookie]

  • SCIENCE! That planets are aligning in the sky

    This is a great week to wake your children early and peer into the sky. Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter are visible to the naked eye. Binoculars or a small telescope will allow you to see Uranus and Neptune. Any camera with a telephoto lens should be able to capture all 6 at once.

    For the last two months, almost all the planets have been hiding behind the sun, but this week they all emerge and are arrayed in a grand line above the rising sun.

    [Source, LiveScience, Six Planets Now Aligned in the Dawn Sky by Geoff Gaherty]


    Picture credit: Starry Night Software. Picture borrowed from LiveScience

    Inspire your children. Awe them with the wonders of the universe. Arise early. Hear the birds. See the planets.

    If you get confused looking at objects in the sky, consider the iPhone/iPad app "GoSkyWatch" It is undeniably one of my favorite applications. I spent most of my life with astronomy books unsure if I was correctly identifying objects in the sky. GoSkyWatch removes all doubt, adds factoids, and makes star gazing so much more fun. [Link to app]

  • This is Knoxville

     

  • RIP Evelyn Sothman

    My friend, my Knoxville "mom," has passed away.

    To me she will always be "Mom" Sothman sharing the family’s dinner during my college years. She even brought me along to "family" reunions and gatherings of an unrelated family in LaFollette whom she met at a stay in the stay in the hospital. Evelyn Sothman shared video with me of one of the last caretakers of the Wonderland Hotel at Elkmont. Through her, and that smile she wore, I felt closer to the people and the kindness of East Tennessee.

    I miss her. May Trisha, Chris and the rest of the family be happy knowing that their mother brought joy to those around her. My love and condolences to you all.

    Doug

    I am happy to have seen her recently. She was working the polls during the most recent election and I had a few moments to get a hug and catch up.

  • Stop Outsourcing at Knox County Schools

    A friend from Jobs with Justice of East Tennessee asked that I help spread their word:

    Jobs with Justice of East Tennessee is petitioning to save the jobs of 275 or more custodial workers as Superintendent Dr. McIntyre has proposed an outsourcing plan as part of the 2011-2012 school budget which would:

    • lay off 275 workers across the county
    • reduce custodial wages by $2-$5 per hour
    • decrease quality of work (as shown by the last outsourcing attempt)

    Please sign our online petition urging the school board to avoid outsourcing in our schools! http://bit.ly/g69Uz3

    Jobs with Justice of East Tennessee is having a lunch for custodians and other school employees and community members this Saturday.

    Custodians and other school employees and community members have been circulating petitions and talking to the Board of Education about the proposal to contract out custodial services. This is a very bad idea – bad for employees, students, and the whole community. There are a couple of School Board meetings coming up soon, so this might be a good time for folks to get together and talk about what we need to do next.

    Let’s meet for lunch Saturday, April 30, 12 noon to 2 pm at the UNITE Building, 1124 N. Broadway (less than a mile north of Central).

    Since custodians work different shifts, Saturday seems like the best chance to get together. We’d like the other folks who have been working on this to attend as well.

    Lunch & Child Care are provided.

    Family members are welcome at this gathering. Everyone is important. We’ll talk about what we’ve accomplished so far, and how we might move forward to save jobs and the quality of our schools. We can do this!

    If you have questions before Saturday, call Jobs with Justice volunteers Karly Safar, 615/519-0157 or Brad Rayson, 865/385-4421.

  • Oh! I now understand why TN fears sex education.

    Apparently sexual education is the gateway to teen sex and deviance! Without sex ed, teenagers would never, ever be aware of the capabilities of their bodies and therefore would never masturbate or have sex.

    Seen on BoingBoing

  • Not always as nerdy as I should be

    Only today have I comprehended the meaning behind HAL’s dirge, "Daisy Bell," at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

    In 1961, the IBM 7094 became the first computer to sing, singing [Daisy Bell]. Vocals were programmed by John Kelly and Carol Lockbaum and the accompaniment was programmed by Max Mathews.

    [Source, Youtube, First computer to sing – Daisy Bell]

    Max V. Mathews, RIP

  • We hire fags!

    I’m thinking of starting a business in Tennessee with the sole purpose of hiring homosexual staff. Here’s the business plan:

    Mission statement: To snub our noses at the Tennessee GOP

    Objectives:

    • Hire employees based on their qualifications and not sexual orientation
    • Provide healthcare to employees and their significant others even if Tennessee will not allow them to be married
    • Show the Tennessee Legislature that a business can operate and profit while respecting an employee’s personal choices in religion (or lack thereof) and relationships
    • Provide the same opportunities to the gay and lesbian, transvestite, transsexual, and asexual communities as the heterosexual community

    We can worry about a product or service later. Investors? Angels?

    If this post confuses you, see quipsofyellow Gay gay gay gay gay: arrest me, already. and TN House Votes to Reverse Nashville LGBT Workplace Protection Ordinance and Tennessee Legislature moves quickly to nullify Nashville’s newly adopted nondiscrimination ordinance.

    Without debate, the House Commerce Subcommittee voted for legislation Wednesday to bar all Tennessee cities from enacting their own policies against gay, lesbian and/or transgender discrimination. The action was taken by voice vote, with no lawmaker offering audible opposition. [Source, Democratic Underground, Tennessee Legislature moves quickly to nullify Nashville’s newly adopted nondiscrimination ordinance]

  • Seeking Referral – Landscaper/Landscape Designer

    Has anyone worked with a decent landscaper or landscape designer in Knoxville? I’m not looking for someone to cut my grass but instead to help design the layout of the yard, help cultivate a thick lush grass in some parts and strategically use plants, ground covers, and shrubs in other parts of the yard. Any recommendations?