It Is A Glorious Day

Teenager Banned From Graduation for Listing High School For Sale on Craigslist. A Real Story

2019-11-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

I always do admire a good prank. I had a friend who was mad at his older brother. He did not physically challenge his brother, as his older brother took too much pleasure in beating him up. My friend did get even. He secretly recorded his brother who thought he was alone and singing an idiotic song about his girlfriend. My friend mislabeled the cassette recording of his brother's song as music his brother liked to hear. When the girlfriend came over, the older brother unknowingly put on the cassette of his singing a silly song about his girlfriend. Before it started playing, the older brother sat down by his girlfriend, and the song started playing throughout the house and even some speakers my friend had outside the house. It became part of family legend. During college, a person I know place women's underwear on the statue of an opposing teams cowboy statute who as the university's mascot. It was pretty funny. Pranks are supposed to be funny and not taken seriously. There are funny pranks that happen and some people just don't see the humor. One guy couldn't go to his graduation ceremony because he tried to sell his high school on Craigslist. I think it's a bit funny, but I'm not a school official. Hey, think of how funny it would be to try and sell one of those school officials on Craigslist?

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

On Friday, a judge heard from attorneys from the ACLU and Independence schools to rule on an emergency injunction request that would have allowed Scheele to walk at graduation, Clark said. The judge ruled in the district’s favor.

As a joke, Scheele, 18, listed Truman High for sale on Craigslist at the bargain basement price of $12,725.

I can't imagine pulling a high school prank and getting the ACLU involved and having to deal with injunctions and all of it because someone can't recognize a joke. What was the harm? Were they afraid someone would actually purchase the school for the Craigslist asking price? Would things have been different if he asked for a few million and got a few responses? I could see telling him how that was completely inappropriate behavior. I'm sure being forced to listen to the monotone lecture by a school administrator would have been enough punishment. In school, I once got such a lecture by a monotoned school administrator, and I surrendered. I started looking for a white flag. Keeping him from participating in graduation is a bit extreme. It's not like he put one of the school administrator's cars or house up for sale on Craigslist. I hate to say it, but I would find that funny.

It was Scheele’s choice of words that got him in trouble. His post also said, “The reason for the sale is due to the loss of students coming up.” The “loss” referred to the students who would be graduating.

But district officials said that in a climate of frequent school shootings, they and some parents perceived the post as a threat. It was a parent who told Independence police he was looking at used baseball equipment when a picture of Truman High School for sale popped up.

Who are these idiot parents? Are they the same as the school official idiots? I say idiot because there is no other way to describe individuals who connect a high school being offered for sale on Craigslist with a school shooting. That's like saying I feel threatened by people who drive by my house because there have been drive-by shootings. I think a little perspective here would have gone a long way. His choice of words? Are these people familiar with the term irrational paranoia? If I saw someone offered the high school for sale on Craigslist when my child was a student there, I would have laughed. I hope I'm not setting myself up for a monotone lecture punishment from a school official at the next school board meeting.

“The advertisement created a substantial and material disruption of the educational environment, and the Independence School District stands by its decision,” the district said in a statement. “The clear substantial and material disruption served as the basis for the suspension. We take student safety very seriously and appreciate the students and parents who brought these incidents to our attention. “

I believe the overreaction by the school district caused some disruption to the educational environment. Going to court, getting injunctions, the ACLU involved are not your standard school educational experiences. Do these people actually believe if you play a prank by putting the high school up for sale on Craigslist, it is a threat to student safety? If I were a parent in that district I would be worried. These school administrators don't seem to be able to tell the difference between someone who has bad gas and poison gas. I could see them call in the local Hazmat team on Taco Tuesday at the school cafeteria.

On Thursday, the ACLU sent a letter to Independence Superintendent Dale Herl urging the district to reconsider its decision...the letter called the district’s interpretation of Scheele’s senior prank “unreasonable.”

But Friday the district declined to change its decision, despite the urging of Scheele’s family.

The story has a bit of a sad ending. Kylan Scheele didn't get to participate in his high school graduation. He did get to be on the Pat Tomasulo's Man of the People show. Unlike the other people who graduated at his high school, Kylan got to wear his cap and gown and walk through a cheering studio audience. He was then on television where people got to hear his story. Kaylan Scheele won the hearts of many of us pranksters but paid a big price. Now that he's no longer part of the school, I wonder if he'll be tempted to put more fun stuff up for sale on Craigslist. I found him an inspiration. If you see my wife's high school picture albums on Craigslist, I know nothing about it.

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article211961864.html

Here is a video of Kylan Scheele graduation on Pat Tomasulo's Man of the People Show.

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According to a Study: School Suspensions Cause Academic Problems. A Real Story.

2019-11-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

I will confess to having been suspended during my early academic experience. It was a time when there were no programs to stop bullying. When I was growing up, the only way to defeat a bully was to engage them in the age-old tradition of fisticuffs. The school administration really didn't care who started a fight. In their minds, it was a fight, and all involved should be punished. Younger generations can put their hands over their mouths and gasp when I tell them about another aspect of my schooling experience, we were also hit with a paddle. So, you take on someone who is bullying you and stand up to them to try and stop it. At that time, your reward was to get hit with a paddle and given a suspension. School administrators would listen to what you had to say and then administered the punishment. Little did the school administration have any idea their actions caused me to experience severe academic problems. It had nothing to do with not studying or doing homework. My academic problem was caused by being suspended. There is now a study that supports these long-held beliefs of mine. Maybe being hit with a paddle also caused me to have latent emotional trauma. I wonder if this would qualify me for academic reparations?

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

Researchers from the University of Michigan and Louisiana State University have found that students, especially boys, suspended from school while in kindergarten or first grade are more likely to be suspended again years later in elementary school and beyond. This can lead to a vicious cycle of more academic infractions that ultimately leads to these students dropping out of school altogether.

What would you have to do to get suspended from kindergarten? If you are acting up at that age, I think school suspension isn't the answer. Maybe it's time to seek counseling or an exorcist for your child. One of them is bound to work. If you get suspended at this age, you are on a path to a career of academic infractions. You may also be on a path so a psych ward or state prison. By the time you reached high school, you'd begin to plan out your school year based on the suspensions you expected to receive. I guess you'd be suspended a lot, but you'd also have great organizational skills.

Schools at every level use suspension as a way to discipline and remove disruptive students from classrooms. However, the study’s findings have caused researchers to question whether this disciplinary structure is really the best way to deal with problem children, especially at such a young and impressionable age.

(Sarcasm Alert)

They also use it to punish a guy who is defending himself against a bully, but I'm not bitter. I don't know if this works either. After being suspended for doing battle with one bully another came along. I wondered if they had some sort of bully training complex hidden deep within the school. There were times I thought it was mandated by the state that each school meet their required number of school bullies.

This study states it may not be the best way to deal with disciplinary problems, but what is the solution? Getting time away from school is sort of a suspension motivation. How about electroshock therapy? Maybe a school should zap a few bullies in front of the school to put the others on notice. If they want to make some money for school activities, they could raffle off pressing the button to zap a bully. I think it could be a win-win situation for schools around the country.

The study also shows that, not surprisingly, young boys described by teachers as “aggressive, defiant and disruptive” were more likely to be suspended than girls, and were less engaged in the classroom. Girls who were considered disruptive and whose parents showed little interest in their education was also at a higher risk.

Here's the problem. Telling a young boy he is defiant, aggressive and disruptive would be a good thing to them. They are great nicknames. What young boy wouldn't want to be called Defiant David, Aggressive Andy or Disruptive Daniel? I know some adults who would love to be called such names.

Having school discipline problems are something that has happened since there has been school. Today, school administrators have a form of discipline that strikes terror and such intense fear into the hearts of school kids, it is considered worse than being disciplined with a paddle. Children now have to face the possibility of having their phone taken away from them. I'm sure many of them would rather face a paddle than give up their phone. It wouldn't surprise me if there is a child who has had his phone taken away because he stood up to a bully. School history is filled with such individuals. Trust me, I know.

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.studyfinds.org/study-school-suspensions-early-more-academic-problems-later/

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History of Veterans Day. A Real Story

2019-11-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

I was in the military as was my father and many members of my family. We have had family members serve in all of the four major military branches. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines all had me or members of my family fill their ranks at one time or another. Today is Veterans Day, and it is a day the service of all members of the military are honored. This day did not always exist, and the history of how it became a national holiday is interesting.

End of World War I

Veterans Day started as a celebration known as Armistice Day. This day was originally a holiday designated as a way to recognize the ending of World War I. The official ending of this war was November 11, 1918. In 1938, it was a new legal holiday intended to honor all of the veterans of World War I. After this time, the United States was involved in World War II as well as the Korean War. In 1954, the U.S.Congress was contacted by a number of veterans services organizations. There were so many veterans from World War II and Koreas they requested the 1938 Act be changed. They asked the word Armistice be deleted and replaced with the word Veterans. The U.S. Congress agreed and the legislation was approved. This officially made November 11 a day designated to honor all American military veterans who had served honorably.

Confusion

It is obvious in 1968 there was a real desire to have uniform holidays that resulted in a three-day weekend. I suppose it was a time when politicians were trying to get re-elected by telling their constituents, they are the person who brought them a uniform three-day weekend holiday schedule. I do wonder how that worked out for them. The U.S. Congress changed Memorial Day, Columbus Day as well as Veterans Day and other federal holidays. There were many states who didn't agree with doing this. They probably rolled their eyes, sighed and then continued to celebrate Veterans Day on November 11. It was a time of much holiday celebration confusion. On September 20, 1975, a law was created that made the observance of Veterans Day once again be on November 11 and for some reason, this didn't start until 1978. I'm sure this action had many voters scratching their head in confusion and wondering if politicians in Washington DC don't have enough real work to spend their time doing.

Observing Veterans Day

Okay, with the government comes lots of rules. Veterans Day is no exception. If the date falls on a non-workday, the federal government will observe it on the following Monday. What will be closed by the federal government is determined by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. It seems state and local governments can choose how to observe it. On August 4, 2001, the U.S. Senate must have been very bored and decided to do something. They passed a resolution that designated November 11 through November 17 as National Veterans Awareness Week. Now, during this time it is suggested students are educated about the sacrifices and contributions of veterans. I have no idea why this has to be suggested by the government, but I respect the effort.

So there you have it. The government history of bureaucracy behind something as simple as a holiday honoring veterans. I believe this is typical of how a government operates. Let's take the time to honor the living veterans who served in wartime as well as peacetime. I know for myself, I'm always overwhelmed with people thanking me for my service. I'm amazed at all the free stuff offered by restaurants and more. I do experience a little guilt. I served because I wanted to serve my country, and I'd be proud to do it again.

Here is a link to an article about the history of Veterans Day

https://www.military.com/veterans-day/history-of-veterans-day.html

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According to a Study Coffee and Alcohol Help People Live Beyond 90. A Real Story.

2019-11-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

My father lived to be 90. He was a man who really didn't care much for healthy eating. He'd spent over 26 years in the military and served during two major wars. To him, he was lucky to be alive with some of the things he experienced during his military career. This was a man who ate what he wanted to eat and drank as much as he felt like drinking. Doctors who told him to eat healthy were treated like children who said something cute. Now there is a study that shows my father's habits may have helped extend his life. Drinking alcohol and coffee were two of his favorite past times, and according to this study, they may have extended his life. If a study comes out that says eating fried foods and playing golf is good for your health, I'll start believing my father was a true pioneer in the world of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

The study has found, among other things, that people "who drank moderate amounts of alcohol or coffee lived longer than those who abstained," and that "people who were overweight in their 70s lived longer than normal or underweight people did."

“I have no explanation for it, but I do firmly believe that modest drinking improves longevity,” Dr. Claudia Kawas, a key researcher for the study, recently said at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in Austin.

It only gets better. Now people who are overweight live longer than someone who is normal or underweight? If you ever needed a reason to stop forcing yourself to have all that healthy stuff now you have one. We need to start drinking alcohol and coffee and not worry about it. Forget that dieting stuff, it's overweight people who are going to be burying all their skinny friends. They may not have the physical ability to bury their friends because they are overweight, but they'll still be alive. Maybe with diabetes, heart disease and COPD, but they'll be alive and the skinny people will be the ones on their way to meet their maker. Skinny people who wished they had eaten more fatty foods, drank more alcohol and coffee. Lifestyle choices do matter.

The research found that subjects who drank two glasses of beer or wine every day decreased their chances at a premature death by 18%, and those who drank two cups of coffee a day decreased their chances by 10%.

If you can decrease your chances of premature death by drinking wine or beer, I can only imagine what drinking whiskey, vodka, rum or even tequila will do for you for your quest of longevity. With the right combination of this stuff, you may live to be well over a hundred. There is no indication of what type of coffee to drink daily to help with your health. I don't believe things like frappé, latte, mocha imitation coffee drinks do much for you. I bet pure black coffee is the way to go, and it will be one of the reasons I live to be 150. I wonder if Irish coffee can now be considered an all-natural health elixir?

But don't go planning your happy hours just yet - you should still exercise! This same research found regular exercise - as well as keeping busy with a regular hobby - is also key to living a longer life.

Are they trying to tell me the obese people who lived longer than the skinny people were regular participants of exercise? These must be individuals who exercised and then daily dine at fast food restaurants and only ate the super-sized value meals. I agree it's important to have a hobby. I do wonder if drinking alcohol and coffee could be considered is your hobby?

So there you have it. Drinking coffee and alcohol daily as well as exercising but being obese and having a hobby are the keys to living past the age of 90. I hope there is a study that also shows the positive health effects of eating ice cream as well as potato chips with dip. Maybe I should hope for a study that says eating lots of hot sauce and cheese on everything will also help you live for a long time. If such studies come along, I'm ready to experience a very long life.

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.wgrz.com/article/life/alcohol-and-coffee-can-help-you-live-past-90-study-says/69-7b6938a1-f25e-4609-be3b-edb8e8c57e47

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Man Claims Pink Beer Promotion Forced Him to Identify as Female. Sues Brewery. A Real Story

2019-11-09T06:00:00.000-05:00

I suppose I'm fortunate to be a guy living inside a guy's body. It has worked out well for me during my life. I never feel the need or desire to identify as a female. I can't imagine a situation that would make me feel forced to do such a thing against my will. There are many females I love and respect. I have a wife, mother, and daughter. I just know I'm comfortable being a member of the male gender. It appears a man in the United Kingdom had a deep emotional response to a promotion by a craft beer brewer. He believed the beer brewer's promotion involving pink beer was making him feel forced to identify as a female. Who knew that pink beer was an elixir responsible for opposite gender identification? I don't know if I want to think about what would happen if a blue beer was offered as part of a promotion.

Below are some excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

The so-called “beer for girls” was released in advance of International Women’s Day, and served as BrewDog’s attempt to appear interested in gender equality.

“Pink IPA is BrewDog’s clarion call to close the gender pay gap in the UK and around the world and to expose sexist marketing to women, particularly within the beer industry,” it wrote in a blog post. “This is our overt parody on the failed, tone-deaf campaigns that some brands have attempted in order to attract women.”

Someone, please explain to me what is wrong with marketing beer to women? When I was single, beer marketed to women got my attention. I was a firm believer that women have the right to have beer marketed to them. I never considered it sexist marketing to women. I considered it a way for women to get an adult beverage designed for them. I supported many women having beer and even invested in it from time to time. Beer marketing to men is simple. It's beer, it's cheap and it will get you buzzed. In college, this would have been enough marketing of a beer for me to buy a case of it.

Aaand that brings us to Dr. Bower. For the few weeks that Pink IPA was available, customers who “identify as female”—BrewDog’s words—could get it for 20 percent less than the cost of a Punk IPA. The 27-year-old Bower was apparently so into this promotion, that he went to the BrewDog bar in Cardiff, Wales, and tried to order a £4 ($5) bottle.

I have seen many beer promotions. I have not been motivated beyond buying beer. I never argued with anyone about a beer being less filling or tasting great. I never believed that when it came to St. Pauli Girl, we either should put her on a pedestal, or a coaster. I'll go as far as to say I never believed that Staropramen helped me get a taste of Prague. I believe giving a discount on a pink beer to customers who identified as female was just a promotion. I will go as far as to say you may not have to actually identify as female for this beer promotion. You could just tell them you identify as a female to get a discount on beer, wink, wink, nod, nod. How would they know? I don't think the beer promotions come with some sort of gender identity test.

“Can I have a discount for purchasing pink beer?”

“Do you identify as a female?”

“I love women so much I look at pictures of them all the time. I identify as a man who is willing to say he identifies as a female to drink discounted pink beer.”

“Okay, here is your beer.”

Bower wasn’t satisfied with this answer, and he told BrewDog that he believed he’d been the victim of sex discrimination, and that he was willing to take them to court over it. When he didn’t get a response, he did that very thing, claiming damages for “direct discrimination and breach of the Equality Act 2010.”

It appears that Bower has a lot of time on his hands. Forget the discrimination against people in areas of employment, housing and more. He is waging a campaign so that all people everywhere can get the same discount when they purchase pink beer regardless of their gender.

(Sarcasm Alert)

I can only imagine the importance to society when it comes to equality in pink beer discounts. If craft brewers are permitted to offer discounts to one gender identification over the other, mankind could suffer. This could lead to such promotional events as ladies night at sporting events, or ladies night at different drinking establishments or ladies night at other retail outlets. Oh, there are already those things, so please don't tell Bower. I hope he never finds out about Mother's Day.

Judge Phillips also said that Bower had to feel “humiliated” and that it “wasn’t a pleasant experience” for him. Bower—who represented himself in court, because of course, he did—was awarded £1,000 ($1,254) in damages, which he plans to donate to a pair of different charities.

I'm sure this isn't the first time or first situation where Bower felt humiliated. A person who has nothing better to do with their time than getting upset over a discount for pink beer has probably had their fair share of unpleasant experiences. Maybe the craft brewer could have a new promotion that says People Go to Court Over Our Beer. They could then provide a discount for everyone who doesn't sue them.

Here is a link to the story.

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wjvkqb/man-sues-brewery-after-pink-beer-promotion-made-him-feel-forced-to-identify-as-female

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Woman Says She Can't Work Because She is Too Beautiful. A Real Story.

2019-11-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

I would say on a daily basis it is easy to notice many different women who are very attractive. They sell real estate, are flight attendants as well as lawyers, CPAs, bikini models, daytime soap opera actresses and more. They all have one thing in common. All of them have jobs. They are women with beauty who go out into the world and earn a living. There appears to be a woman who was born in Russia, lives in England and has a very serious problem. She is so beautiful, it is difficult for her to get a job. This is a woman who is a victim of her beauty. Isn't that interesting.

“You have the perfect qualifications, but I'm sorry we can't hire you.”

“Why not?”

“Well, you are too beautiful. With your radiant beauty, men will stare at you and not work. Women will be unable to work because they will be so jealous of your intense good looks. You have all the qualifications, but you are just too beautiful for the job.”

“I understand as this has happened to me so many times before. I understand.”

I'm sure this is what has happened during every job interview my wife has attended. She never told me about it, but I suspect it may have happened many times for her.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

A 33-year-old law-school graduate from London decided to start her own retail company selling vintage clothes online after struggling to find a job because of her good looks.

I wonder what she called her retail company? Victim To My Beauty, Too Beautiful To Be An Employee or I Intimidate Women and Not Taken Seriously By Men. I have a few suggestions. Since her beauty is such a problem, why doesn't she work with people who have sight issues? They wouldn't think about her beauty as they wouldn't be able to see it. There are many online jobs where nobody has to see you. Her looks wouldn't be an issue then. She could also get over herself and realize there are women who have jobs and are just as attractive as her. The big difference could be the attitude they have about their looks. It could also be because they're not interested in having a silly story about them go viral.

Irina told British tabloid The Sun that her attractiveness affects her negatively both during the hiring process and after she gets a job. To improve her chances of actually landing a job, the 33-year-old’s agent advised her to dye her hair darker to make herself too professional. But even if she gets past the interviews, her male bosses never seem to take her seriously.

I can only imagine why a boss might not take her seriously.

“Could you type up this letter and send it.”

“You only say that because I'm so beautiful. You probably brag to people about how beautiful woman is who typed your letters and sent them. I'm sure it is constantly part of your thoughts.”

“I need that done by 3 pm.”

“Oh, you think a beautiful girl, such as myself, can't get these letters typed and ready before 3 pm? You think because I'm beautiful I can't do the work? Is that the issue here?”

“I also need you to pull some reports for me for my afternoon meeting.”

“I see what you are doing. Keep the beautiful girl in the file room pulling files so that the men won't stare at her and stop working. This way the other women in the office can't be intimidated by her look and develop low self esteems. It is the same story every place I work. My intense beauty always causes me problems. Dying my hair and wearing glasses is not helping me.”

“It would help if you'd get all that work done.”

“Ugly people will never understand what a curse this intense beauty is on a daily basis.”

“Even during the hiring process, being beautiful gets in the way. I have a law degree and a great CV but my recruitment agent still told me to dye my blonde hair dark for interviews, Irina Kova complained. “She said.

(Sarcasm Alert)

Now there is some sound advice. You can forget your law degree and your CV because those in the legal field will only pay attention to your looks. They have no interest in your education or work experience because they know that a person with less looks with the same education and experience can do the job only cheaper. She probably believes they should pay for her super beauty. Is she serious? If a law firm could make money with just her looks, she'd be on the front of every one of their information packets. They'd have shirts and mugs, key chains as well as road signs with her image. This may not get law firms the type of clients they want, but they'd probably just open another office under a different name and take the work. I wonder if the problem is they want her to actually be able to do the work and not listen to her whine about her beauty. It's just a guess.

Below is a link to the story

https://710wor.iheart.com/featured/len-berman-and-michael-riedel-in-the-morning/content/2019-05-21-woman-claims-she-cant-find-a-job-because-of-her-good-looks/

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Researchers Claim Dodgeball Teaches Unethical System of Oppression. A Real Story.

2019-11-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid we all played dodgeball. We played in during gym class, we played in on the playground. It was one of our favorite games. Little did we know we were engaged is legalized bullying. We never thought of it that way. We just thought it was fun. There were kids who just were not made to play dodgeball. These are the kids who can see someone throw a ball right at them and not realize the point of the game is to get out of the way of the ball. It's like these kids looked at the ball coming at a fast rate of speed toward their body and believe it will never hit them. Once they got clobbered in the head they realized it was for real. With some kids, this only made them more stupid and better targets. Once you are too afraid to move or think of how to move, your number is up. I wonder what happened to many of those kids who never quite grasped the concept of how to avoid getting hit in the head with a dodgeball. It appears many of them grew up to be researchers in Canada.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

In a totally serious article published in Canada's National Post, researchers argue that social justice demands the complete and total elimination of dodgeball from the Canadian physical education curriculum, lest children grow up to understand they can wield their privilege the way they wield a rubber athletic ball.

This from a country that gave the world the game of hockey. Where is the social justice in hockey? It is a difficult sport where people grow up believing they can obtain large contracts from being a brute with skates and this gives them their privilege. Large NHL contracts come with a lot of privilege. Maybe what these Canadians researchers need to do is create a form of dodgeball played using skates and on ice. I'm sure it could then become a very popular national past time in Canada.

The game, the group claims is “miseducative" and force students to display "hierarchies of privilege based on athletic skill," even though the game is mostly just about throwing balls at other children.

"Dodgeball is not just unhelpful to the development of kind and gentle children who will become decent citizens of liberal democracy. It is actively harmful to this process," the researchers claim, adding that the game is, at its core, "oppressive."

Hey, guess what? Students who are the academically gifted types display hierarchies of privilege based on their academic skills. The last thing anyone wants to experience is getting in the middle of a nerd war. And guess what else? Not playing dodgeball is unhelpful for the strong child who can smack a future Canadian researcher in the head. I think this guilty pleasure helps them vote for playing dodgeball as well as become decent citizens in a liberal democracy. I think taking away the ability of kids to play dodgeball is oppressive. I say give me dodgeball or give me another fun game to play where I can throw a ball at some frightened future researcher's head.

Part of the problem, apparently, is that, unlike other nursery games and elementary school sports, dodgeball puts the focus on other students. In order to succeed in the game, you have to target other kids and hit them with the ball. When you make humans the target, the researchers say, you "legalize bullying" (because most of the targets are smaller, weaker children).

I disagree with this assertion. Games such as Alligator In the Swamp, British Bulldog, and Tag played in their full-contact versions also put the focus on other students. In order to succeed in these games, kids are targeted. This builds character. I don't think these games legalize bullying. They do give children who are smaller or weaker a chance to prove themselves. During one momentous dodgeball game in high school, a super nerd took out the captain of the football team and won instant respect and recognition. The football team captain got to take the nerd's sister out on a date. I guess it all worked out. He was a nerd willing to pimp out his sister for a good cause.

Edutopia reports that dodgeball, though a much-beloved memory for Gen-Xers and older Millennials have little value for modern physical education teachers, who want to focus more on developing social skills than showcasing athletic prowess.

All I can say is the gym classes in these places must really be boring. Why would social skills need to be taught in gym class? Are they teaching things like proper conversations to have when your muscles are weak and undeveloped? Maybe they'll teach the correct etiquette for things to say during a hockey game when you smash your opponent into the boards.

“Pardon me, but I would like you to know that smashing your face up against Plexiglas and watching you be in pain and become enraged is nothing personal.”

“No offense taken. I will make my best effort to return the favor and give you as much pain and anger as you have given me.”

“Oh good, I'm so glad we had this nice talk.”

“I agree, I learned so much about polite conversations during gym class during school”

I don't know who these Canadian researchers are, but it would be nice to have the opportunity to throw a dodgeball at them.

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/48036/researchers-dodgeball-teaches-children-unethical-emily-zanotti

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According to North Carolina Woman Bigfoot Likes Sweets. A Real Story.

2019-11-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid, we always talked about what it would be like to encounter Bigfoot. This was a time when it was normal for kids to spend a lot of time in the woods. We had our Boy Scout pocket knives, brown bag lunches and carried bottles of root beer. We were ready for anything. We'd often joke about what we would do if we encountered Bigfoot. As young guys, we felt we'd be able to handle it. He couldn't catch us because we all ran so fast. One friend said if Bigfoot came at him, he'd just pick up a rock and hit that big hairy dude between the eyes. Another friend said he could hit Bigfoot in the crowned jewels with a coke bottle after he finished drinking it. Then would easily getaway. I wasn't afraid, I had my Boy Scout pocket knife. I'm sure Bigfoot never came near us when we were in the woods because we were very brave and capable young boys. It could also be because nobody, where we lived, ever saw Bigfoot. I like to think this creature was too afraid to come near such well-prepared young boys.

It seems a woman in North Carolina knows that Bigfoot has a sweet tooth. You have to think that being Bigfoot probably means you can't get dove bars or chocolate bars and more any time you want them. If you are a Bigfoot and walk into a story, it may not go well.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

The legendary creature was reportedly spotted by a North Carolina woman in the woods behind her home, according to a WCNC report. While "reports" of the mythical creature in North Carolina is nothing new, it apparently has a taste for processed sugar and carbs.

Mostly like candy, cookies, they love peanut brittle, chocolate, peanut butter sandwiches," said Shelby resident Vicky Cook. "They don't like apples and bananas."

This does make you wonder about what things Bigfoot eats. I'm sure this creature has been living with the Paleolithic diet for a very long time. If you go from eating roots, nuts, and grain-based foods to having an opportunity at having some chocolate peanut butter and peanut brittle as well as pasta, you're are going to ignore the bananas and apples. In that regard, I'm the same as Bigfoot. I can only imagine if Bigfoot had the opportunity to have ice cream or lemon meringue pie. Bigfoot sightings may start taking place at popular restaurants.

Cook was able to capture what she believed to be the creature on her camera, adding that she's not quite exactly sure of what she saw and is still having trouble believing it herself.

"Sometimes I think this can't be real," she continued. "It went in front of my camera. I screamed I didn't know what it was, but that thing was tall!"

If she had chocolate, candy, peanut brittle and cookies out, it could have been many different kinds of Bigfoot. There is the young teenager with a ravenous appetite Bigfoot. It could also have been the, I have an extreme sweet tooth Bigfoot. There have been times when I have been confused with a chocoholic Bigfoot. I hope it wasn't me as I have gone in front of the cameras and had people scream. Many people have said they didn't know what I was and what happened to their chocolate.

Cook noted that the sightings started in March and since then, she's had eight footprints, all in different sizes. "This is a juvenile, but look at how long it is," she said. "That's a big ... big print."

I would hate to think of all the costs involved with feeding a teenage Bigfoot. It is possible some parts of the forest could be ravaged if there are too many teenage Bigfoots. Those who have raised teenage boys know exactly what I am talking about. If it was in March, it could have been part of the Bigfoot spring break. If the worst thing a teenage Bigfoot is laying around in the forest and eating sweets during the warm months of the year as the Bigfoot parents try to get them to do work around where they live in the forest. We may be more like Bigfoot than we realize

the legendary creature has had a slow start...Perhaps Bigfoot caught wind that baseball player-turned loose cannon Jose Canseco

We can only hope that Bigfoot is a baseball fan and would like to have Jose Conseco's autograph to add to his collection. I have no idea why Bigfoot has had a slow start, but it is possible Bigfoot parents are trying to teach their children about a proper diet and the benefits of eating sweets in moderation. I know I will never see a Bigfoot if I go in the woods, I still have my Boy Scout pocket knife.

Below is a link to the article.

https://www.foxnews.com/tech/bigfoot-north-carolina-candy-cookies

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Japanese Pillow Fighting Championships. A Real Story

2019-11-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

I can remember as a child there were certain times when having a pillow fight was necessary. It was usually a time when you were supposed to be in bed and sleeping. This had to happen when friends were sleeping over. When you are young, wide awake in bed, and bored, things such as pillow fighting can occur. It is a difficult thing for a child to do and not laugh. Once the laughter starts, the swings of the pillow become erratic and things can get broken. This can be followed by the sound of a parent yelling about what is going on in there. This is when a parent will head to the bedroom causing young pillow pugilists to jump in bed, close their eyes and put on their best acting performance of a sleeping child. A parent entering the room wanting to know what happened and how something got broken can cause these same children to have amnesia when forced awake from their sleep acting. These children will have no idea how anything got broken. The acting performance always fails, but it is a time-honored tradition among generations of children. Not that I know.

It seems that the Japanese have seen the time-honored pillow fight as something that can be done as part of serious competition. They have pillow fighting teams and national championships. I'm sure the American version would include jumping into bed, pretending to be asleep and having amnesia on how something got broken.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

The Japanese may be known for their neatness, particularly when it comes to making their bed in the morning, but all social norms went out the window on Saturday during qualifying for the All-Japan Pillow Fighting Championships in Shizuoka Prefecture.

In the small fishing town of Ito, 150 kilometers south of Tokyo, teams gathered from across the region to compete in the event

This is a serious departure from the intensity of battle by a people who brought the world individuals with awe-inspiring fighting skills like ninjas and samurai warriors. I wonder if the pillow fights involve some type of training. Is it possible to get a certain colored feather on your pillow for a ranking as you progress in training? I'm sure there could be a variety of pillow fighting moves involved with this type of competition. You must know where to hit your opponent, how to hit your opponent and resist the temptation to laugh when feathers from your pillow go on the face of your opponent. It would be great if they had a specially designated uniform for pillow fighters. Could this mean a new type of action movie will soon be upon us?

Started by a group of high school children in Shizuoka, the game is based on the age-old ritual of pillow fighting when away from the supervision of teachers and parents at a sleep-over or on a school trip.

The game starts with all five players 'sleeping' under duvets on futons before the whistle goes and they leap to their feet and reach for a pillow.

This is a sport that is very realistic. I'm sure at this age, I would struggle to imitate sleeping if I got good and comfortable with a futon or duvet. My sleep would probably be very real. If I got my pillow just the way I wanted it, I'd struggle to get up. Alarm clocks don't affect me, I'm sure a whistle wouldn't impact my rest either. I do wonder if people are given just any pillow to fight with or if they have to use a pillow that meets certain requirements in weight as well as contents and more. If they don't have such requirements, I guess there is nothing stopping someone from having a pillow filled with a frozen pork roast or croquet balls. Maybe this will be the case if they create an extreme pillow fighting version of the game.

A mix between dodgeball and chess, the aim is to protect each team's 'King' from being hit by pillows whilst trying to hit the opposition's 'King' during two-minute sets. One player on each team can also use a duvet as a shield.

Saturday's regional tournament contained 16 teams vying for the qualification for the national competition, which has 64 entrants and is held in February.

If parents go up in the middle of the night to their children's room after hearing them make the noise pillow fighting, the children can now say they are training for a pillow fighting championship. The need for faking sleep and having amnesia is no longer necessary. I'm sure that hitting someone with a pillow and avoiding being hit take some skills. You do think it being Japan, they would include some martial arts with it to make things interesting. Some roundhouse kicks, blocks, punches, as well as amazing takedowns with a pillow, would be great. I think if this sport includes martial arts it could inspire movies like the Karate Pillow Kid or Pillow Ninja Warrior and others.

Team 'BlancWhite' who contained nine-year-old Soda Wamanobe – the secondest youngest competitor -- won the tournament.

As their prize, the team received an array of local produce as well as the all-important qualification for next year's nationwide tournament.

I'm sure a nine-year-old has probably the advantage of being a smaller object to hit with a pillow and some great signature moves. There could be the threats to tell mom move as well as the hit me and I'm telling how you skipped school move. Maybe those would be signature moves of an American pillow fighter from my family. If this were the United States the winning team would enjoy the produce and the invitation to the next year's tournament, but they would wonder where is their trophy. I could see kids showing off their pillow-fighting trophy to friends and family. During my childhood pillow-fighting career, I could have gotten a trophy for fake sleeping and amnesia, but that's another championship.

Here is a link to the story.

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/all-japan-pillow-fighting-championships-behind-scenes-dodgeball-chess-a8929996.html

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Parents Believe Children at Age 5 Need to Consider Their Career Path. A Real Story.

2019-11-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

If I were to use the word career path with my daughter when she was age 5, she would have ignored me and asked to watch Barney. I can't imagine a child who is 5 and trying to learn what is being taught to them at preschool or kindergarten considering their life's work. It would be difficult to explain to them how coloring and juice boxes aren't involved in choosing a career. At this age, they believe being a superhero or princess is a good career option.

There was a recent survey of parents that showed many of them believe this is the time in their child's life when career decisions should be made. This just lets me know that there are many parents who don't seem to grasp how there comes a time when a kid needs to be permitted to be a kid. Playing dress-up, coloring, exploring the world is a good thing. Trying to guide them on a career path at this age is a dumb thing. Makes me wonder if these parents regret their own career choices.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

Perhaps not surprisingly, more than half (56%) of the 2,000 parents surveyed already have their own ideas for what their kids will be when they grow up. Three in four participants hope their children gravitate towards STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, mathematics) professions, with engineer, doctor, and web developer/programmer leading the way for the jobs they predict them landing.

So, these are parents who don't value people who fix their cars, build their homes, repair their plumbing and so many other things associated with a career in the trade professions. Our society could not function without people in the trade professions. I notice these surveyed parents also didn't want to have children who were entrepreneurs. I'm sure many of these parents are employed by someone who took on the challenges of starting and running a business.

“Why don't you finish your degree in Sexuality Studies?”

“I like working with tools. I fixed your car and dishwasher.”

“How are you ever going to succeed in the world?”

“I make more money than my siblings who have college degrees and I'm not drowning with student debt.”

“This is not what we agreed to when you were five-years-old.”

“Sorry.”

President of Marketing Communications at The Toy Association, in a statement. “As parents visit the toy aisle, they should first look for items that truly allow children to explore an area of science, technology, engineering or math and allow the children to use their imaginations. Most importantly, the toy must be fun for children to play with and captivate their interest. Learning through play should always be a fun experience!”

Maybe toys associated with working in the fast food industry could be for those who plan to have an art history degree. There could be a taxi cab driving toy for those who plan to get a degree in Canadian studies. Toys letting children play as if they are working in retail for those who get a degree in puppetry.

“You are playing with stuffed animals. Why aren't you using the toy calculator I gave you so you can begin working toward your degree in engineering?”

“I want some cookies.”

“Do you realize your entire adult life could be impacted if you don't start working toward your engineering career.”

“I want to be Superman.”

“No, you want to be an engineer.”

“I want to be fly and have x-ray vision.”

“You can't do it. I know you're five-years-old, but it's time you begin to take life seriously.”

“Can I go outside and dig in the dirt?”

“At last you seem to be taking your future career as an engineer serious.”

“No, I want to find bugs and scare my sister with them.”

“Oh.”

But digital media is keeping kids from playing with these toys, parents say. Half feel competition with screens is the biggest challenge in the house when it comes to getting the kids to use their skill-honing toys and games.

(Sarcasm Alert)

Someone needs to tell these parents how to be parents. I think it is the parent who can limit their child's screen time and redirect them toward playing with toys. If you want your five-year-old child to begin working on their career as a future scientist, you need to bump up your game.

“I want to play video games.”

“Hey, you have been in this world for five years. You have successfully unlocked the mysteries of bathroom usage and know how to button your shirt, most times. It is time you start being serious about your science career.”

“Can I go play T-ball?”

“I'm sorry, but its time you walk away from the video games and playing baseball. You need to see the benefits of pursuing a career in science.”

“Grandpa said scientists make a lot of money but baseball players can make millions of dollars every year for playing a game.”

“You know, you're right, forget this science stuff, you need to learn how to throw a great curveball.”

“What is a curveball?”

“Get your baseball glove, we're going to the little league field. You'll learn about that and begin to pursue your career as a highly paid baseball player. It's never too early to begin training for a future as a professional athlete.”

“Okay.”

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.studyfinds.org/survey-children-start-thinking-about-career-age-five/

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Research Shows It is Okay to Drink 25 Cups of Coffee in a Day. A Real Story.

2019-11-03T06:00:00.000-05:00

People who know me are aware I enjoy drinking coffee. My daily routine consists of getting out of bed, stumbling as I make my way to the kitchen. At this time, my wife knows I will be unable to engage in any form of coherent language until I've had my coffee. She hands me a cup of coffee and hopes for the best. After the first drink of it, I'm able to make words she can understand. By the time I'm almost done with my first cup of morning coffee, I'm making complete sentences and am able to engage in actual conversation. This is simply our morning ritual.

I will also drink coffee during the day. I usually stop around noon. It appears there is a breed of coffee drinkers that consume java at levels I can only imagine. I suppose these serious consumers of coffee have some health concerns about their consumption of it. Research has shown people can drink up to 25 cups of coffee in a day and not worry about it making their arteries stiff. If I drank that much coffee in a day, I would be worried about more than my arteries. I'd be concerned about spending so much time in the bathroom and only being able to close my eyes every 36 hours. That is a lot of coffee.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

Good news coffee lovers: you can still drink up to 25 cups in a day without worrying about stiffer arteries, a new study finds. Not that most people drink anywhere near that much — even the biggest coffee junkies out of the 8,412 British adults who were studied drank about five cups on average daily.

What was the purpose of this study? Is it sponsored by coffee manufacturers and sellers? Is this a way to tell people who drink five cups a day it is time to bump up their coffee drinking game? Will this lead to people who drink 25 cups of coffee a day being in advertisements saying how they have no worries about stiffer arteries? Maybe coffee shops will start offering discounts to people who have 25 cups a day and healthy arteries. I believe to drink 25 cups of coffee a day you would need to have it with each meal, between meals, while exercising and maybe consume coffee using an intravenous drip while you take a nap and sleep. Consuming this much coffee would require a serious commitment.

Researchers from Queen Mary University of London say those earlier studies used much smaller sample sizes, leading them to question the results and put them up against a much larger group of participants.

I imagine trying to find a person who drinks 25 cups of coffee every day is difficult. These are people who probably sleep a total of eight hours a week. They would be the ones shaking all the time as they made repeated trips to and from the bathroom. I'm sure they would be lousy subjects for research because they would have to be in motion and struggle to speak slowly.

“I understand you drink 25 cups of coffee a day. Would you like to be part of our research project?”

“Sorry, I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Now that you're back, have you decided if you want to be part of our research project?”

“Sorry, I have to get more coffee.”

“Could you stay still and answer my question about being part of our research project?”

“Sorry, after I go to the bathroom again, I'm going to run around the block a few times. I've not slept in three days but I'm feeling great.”

“You need to stop and let me know if you want to participate in our research project.”

“Sorry, I've got to get some more coffee. Could you talk to me after I run around the block a few more times and go to the bathroom?”

“Why don't you stop drinking so much coffee?”

“Then I'd be just a person without stiff arteries who nobody wants for their research project.”

“Oh.”

Though people who drank more than 25 cups of coffee daily were excluded from the study, the authors found that those who drank up to this amount were no more likely to suffer from stiffening of the arteries compared to those who drank less than a cup a day.

Can you imagine going to participate in a research study about drinking coffee and being excluded because you drank too much coffee? That is like doing a study on alcoholics and telling a person they're excluded from the study because they drink too much.

“I'm willing to participate in your study.”

“How much coffee do you drink each day?”

“I have about 26 cups of coffee each day.”

“Sorry, we only need people who drink 25 cups of coffee a day or less.”

“Why is the cut off point 25 cups? How did you determine this amount of coffee consumption?”

“Because, ah, we're researchers who have determined people who drink up to 25 cups of coffee a day don't suffer any more stiffening of the arteries than those who drink a single cup of coffee a day.”

“What about those of us who drink 26 cups of coffee a day? What will consuming one more cup of coffee a day do to our arteries? I mean, if you're truly concerned about public health wouldn't you want to know how an additional cup of coffee affects my arteries? We have a right to know.”

“You get us the research funds, and we'll see what the additional cup of coffee a day does to your arteries.”

“Hey, this is prejudicial. You are excluding those of us who drink 26 cups of coffee a day for no reason other than your preconceived stereotypical beliefs of those of us who drink 26 cups of coffee a day. You are nothing more than 26 cups of coffee a day phobic. I may file a civil rights lawsuit.”

“Will you leave us alone if we give you free coffee for a week?”

“It's a deal.”

Below is a link to the article.

https://www.studyfinds.org/drinking-25-cups-coffee-stiffness-arteries/

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Grandmother Slows Traffic by Pointing Hairdryer at Drivers. A Real Story.

2019-11-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

When it comes to protecting their grandchildren or any other children, grandmothers are a force that must be addressed. Grandmothers are able to make the best meals, provide the best memories and tell you things about your parents they didn't want you to know.

“Is it true when you were my age kids called you Cauliflower ear because everyone said your ears were big?”

“Who told you such a thing?”

“Grandma.”

“She said you were really bad at playing hide and seek because everybody could easily find you since you always had gas.”

“I have to talk to my mother. What else did she tell you?”

“She said something about you and dad in a car in the driveway, but I didn't understand it.”

“Grandma told you about that time?

“No, actually I think it was dad.”

“Oh.”

A grandmother in England felt the traffic outside her home was going too fast. She knew the vehicles were traveling too fast had to be forced to slow down. This grandmother didn't wait for law enforcement to act. Armed with a hairdryer, she decided to take action. This grandmother began pointing her hairdryer at speeding vehicles. The cars began to slow down. Grandmother ingenuity triumphs over speeders.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

Jean Brooks, 64, from Nottingham, has racked up more than 12 million views with a video filmed for the BBC of her unique idea to improve safety on her street.

Her neighbours claim they have noticed a remarkable difference since she started holding a hairdryer over her garden fence.

If using a hairdryer to slow down traffic becomes popular, I bet hairdryer manufacturers could begin making it part of their marketing. You could have the radar gun line of hair dryers. They will be able to slow down traffic as well as dry your hair quickly. Is it possible that a new version of radar gun will be developed for law enforcement that can determine a vehicles speed as well as dry a police officer's hair during their downtime? This could lead to a line of multi-use hairdryers able to help with speeding drivers and wet hair all at once.

She had created a cafe in her front garden at home in Hucknall to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care, following the death of her son-in-law

While spending time doing this, she noticed cars speeding along the road. A friend told her about an idea originating in France, where someone had pointed their hairdryer at cars to slow them down.

Oh, the French are some of the most innovative people. This, of course, could benefit law enforcement. If there is a day they forget their radar gun, they can just pick up a hairdryer to slow down traffic. If they ever got the two mixed up, it may not be good.

“Officer, how did you determine my client was speeding?”

“I clocked him from the beginning of the road to the highway sign.”

“According to my client, you used a radar gun.”

“Your client is mistaken. I didn't have a radar gun in the patrol car, I had a hairdryer.”

“Why did you have a hairdryer?”

“I had wet hair. Also, pointing a hairdryer at drivers will make them slow down. It's been done successfully by grandmothers in France and England. Your client didn't even slow down when he saw the hairdryer. He simply ignored the hairdryer and continued speeding.”

“Do you often use the hairdryer in your patrol car to dry your hair?”

“Of course, everybody knows you can't dry your hair with a radar gun.”

“Good point.”

Speaking on the video for BBC Nottingham, Ms. Brooks said: 'Quite simply, by picking up one of these and going like that, I have never seen so many people's brake lights go on - and all it is, is a hairdryer.

'If they don't like it, that's tough. I live here, my friends live here, my friend's children live here and if we can't be safe in our own street, where the hell are we going to be safe in the world?'

It seems if you don't like the attitude of a grandmother using a hairdryer to slow down traffic near where she lives, you are the one with the problem. Grandmother attitude is something that can't be ignored. This could be the beginning of a global move by grandmothers all over the world who will start arming themselves with hair dryers in an effort to slow down traffic in their neighborhoods and make it a safer place to live.

“Is the traffic bad in this neighborhood?”

“Not anymore.”

“What happened?”

“The local grandmothers are armed with hairdryers and started pointing them at people driving too fast in the neighborhood.”

“Did that slow down people driving too fast?”

“Yes, and they are also great cooks so the chocolate cookie and cake consumption in the neighborhood significantly higher when compared to similar neighborhoods.”

“Oh.”

Below is a link to the article

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4570964/Grandmother-tricks-speeding-drivers-HAIRDRYER.html?fbclid=IwAR1ZSk3MT2gPFzc2t8k-3wo-aHe-EkPqpdy172g-g5j3hOewSEECTo4P8rg

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The Benefits of Procrastination. A Real Story

2019-11-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

I confess I am a person who likes to put things off until there is no other choice. When my wife was visiting her sister, I only mowed the lawn when some neighbors threatened to call authorities and require I get a permit for growing a forest in a suburb. I told them I will get to mowing it. I also could probably hide in my overgrown lawn and nobody would find me. I eventually broke down and mowed it before my wife came home. I actually finished a few minutes before her car got to the driveway, but I did get it done. It now seems an effort has been made to discover the benefits of procrastinating. I support this effort. I would like to know of any benefits I have not yet experienced. I do plan to read the study one of these days. I just have to get around to it, so just give me some time.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

Some researchers define procrastination as "a form of self-regulation failure [...] characterized by the needless delay of things one intends to do despite the expectation of negative consequences."

I can say this is true. If you have to pay your own taxes to the government, I can tell you procrastinating can get expensive. Governmental tax agencies are not staffed with understanding people who say don't worry about it, we know you're good for it, so get it here when you have the time. No, these are people who say give us the tax you owe or you will owe even more taxes and if you take your time too often you will owe even more taxes.

“You were late paying your taxes. You owe more money.”

“I have a medical condition.”

“What medical condition?”

“I suffer from procrastination maximums syndrome. My mind is programmed to be late with things. I can't help it. I'm a victim. I think it is a genetic disorder.”

“Now you have to pay even more money.”

“Why?”

“As per tax code 2234 (3430) lousy excuse story for not paying taxes on time fine.”

“Oh.”

Why do we procrastinate?

When referring to procrastination, some people may think of it as poor time management, an inability to organize and prioritize tasks, meaning that we do them at the last minute, or even past their deadline.

Increasingly, research has shown that procrastination is, in fact, a complex, often maladaptive reaction to various perceived stressors.

(Sarcasm Alert)

You are damn right. I'm as complex as anyone. If there is someone who reacts maladaptively to stressors it is me. I've never met a stressor that didn't cause me to go into full-blown procrastination mode. I could be minding my own business and my wife could be upset because I didn't do things around the house or buy things she requested I buy for dinner or remember she was in the hospital. I only know how to tell her I'll get to it or it's no big deal or its routine surgery so it's not big deal. Do I get any understanding? No, I get a wife who doesn't understand how I can't help but react maladaptively to her unique brand of a stressor. Not only does she lack understanding, but my wife has been known to say some rather unpleasant things. Life can be so unfair us suffering from the affliction of procrastination maximums syndrome.

One study published in Personality and Individual Differences in 2017 also found a link between creative ideation (coming up with creative ideas) and active procrastination. It suggested that among 853 undergraduates at Chinese universities, "active procrastinators" may be more prone to creativity.

Hey, if I know one thing about us active procrastination types, it is that we are some of the most creative people in the world. It is a requirement for being a successful procrastinator at any level. This is easily explained. We procrastinator types spend a lot of time creating reasons for putting off doing things. A non-procrastinating type just does things and doesn't have to be creative. Us procrastinating types must come up with the most creative excuses and make them believable.

“Why didn't you fix the basement door like you agreed to do?”

“I never said I wouldn't fix it, I just didn't specify when I would get it done. I'll get to it.”

“You said you'd do it today.”

“I may need an extension beyond today. I'll fix it, there is no need to worry.”

“An extension?”

“I'm busy doing things today.”

“Like what?”

“I have to figure out a reason to be late to work tomorrow. Then, I have to figure out a reason to be late with my reports. After that, I have to figure out a reason to be late for the business lunch meeting. I have things to do today.”

“Why don't you just get to work on time, get your reports in on time and go to the business lunch meeting on time.”
“It is obvious you lack the creative skills necessary to be successful at procrastination. It is more than just a lifestyle for us, it is a calling that makes us feel pride. When we get around to feeling proud of it. It's on my list. I'll get to being proud about being a procrastinator eventually. It'll happen one of these days. Sometime in the future, when we get to it, we'll even have a procrastinator's Hall of Fame. I'm sure of it.”

I intend to take some more time and write some more for this blog column, but I'll get to it eventually. When reading a blog column by someone who suffers from procrastination maximums syndrome, you need to have patience. You should also realize if you were this creative, you would be one of us procrastinator types and read this blog column eventually when you get to it.

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/325108.php

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Halloween Celebrations in Other Countries. A Real Story.

2019-10-31T06:00:00.000-04:00

Halloween is that one great day of the year when kids get dressed up in costumes and go from door to door in their neighborhood and get free candy. For candy manufacturers and companies who make, sell or rent costumes, this is a huge holiday. If you ask the average child who is going from house to house and wearing a costume why they are doing this you will find they aren't really into the big picture o Halloween. Children are focused on Halloween parties, wearing costumes, getting free candy and ignoring people who ask them why they are doing such a thing. We are not the only nation with greedy capitalistic companies willing to make increased revenue by exploiting a holidays nobody knows much about and only want to celebrate and have fun. There are other countries who have their own unique way of celebrating Halloween.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS // MEXICO

The holiday is celebrated with in-home altars full of fruit, peanuts, turkey, soda, hot chocolate, water, stacks of tortillas and a special holiday bread called pan de Muerto (bread of the dead), which are left as offerings for weary ghosts. For the souls of children, families leave out toys and candy, while adult souls receive cigarettes and shots of mezcal.

It seems if you are a dead person in the United States who wants to celebrate Halloween, you might want to head south of the border. There it seems they take care of the dead and offer them things. It seems very age appropriate. The souls of children get candy and toys. Since they are no longer among the living, they can have all the candy they want. I don't know if the souls of children can get out of control after having too much candy, but its the dead parents that will have to deal with it. I like the shots of mezcal and cigarettes for the dead adults. I suppose you can smoke all you want when you're dead because it's not like smoking will kill you. Shots of mezcal and ghost kids wired up on candy. Dead people probably love Mexico.

THE HUNGRY GHOST FESTIVAL // HONG KONG

On the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, which is around mid-August to mid-September, the people of Hong Kong celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival. The festival is a way to “feed” these spirits both the food and money they need for the afterlife. It’s part of a larger month-long celebration that also features burning paper and food offerings.

The attitude to take care of the dead even stretches to places like Hong Kong. I wonder what kind of food you would provide a ghost? I suppose it doesn't matter if a ghost has a food allergy because it's not like the food will kill them. Maybe the eat goulash. (Oh, forgive me for that one.) I like the idea of offering spirits money. Is there a specific monetary exchange rate between here and the afterlife? Exactly how much would an American dollar be worth in ghost currency? I wonder what pictures ghosts would have on their money? If a ghost can't pay their bills and tries to commit suicide, I wonder what happens to them. Makes you wonder if there is such a thing as a ghost lottery.

OGNISSANTI // ITALY

Better known as Ognissanti, the festivities usually begin a couple of days before, when people begin leaving fresh flowers—generally chrysanthemums—on the graves of departed loved ones, as well as complete strangers, turning the country's cemeteries into a beautiful display of colors. Italians also pay tribute to the departed by putting a red candle in the window at sunset and set a place at the table for those spirits they hope will pay a visit

As a kid who grew up in the United States, I would find this Halloween celebration a bit disappointing.

“Are we going to go house to house and ask for free candy?”

“No, we are going to go to the graveyard and put chrysanthemums on the graves of our departed loved ones. We also put flowers on the graves of strangers.”

“Then we go and ask for free candy from different houses?”

“No, then we put a red candle in the window at sunset.”

“Well, once it's dark can we then put on costumes and go and ask for free candy from the different houses?”

“No, we set a place at the table for a spirit we hope will visit.”

“I'm wondering about something.”

“Why we don't celebrate Halloween like they do in the United States?”

“No, I'm wondering how Italian costume makers and stores that sell or rent costumes make any money without celebrating Halloween like in the United States. I'm sure the companies who make and sell candy don't do too well either. I do like one thing.”

“What?”

“Having a séance at dinner for family spirits.”

“Oh.”

ALL SAINTS' DAY AND ALL SOULS' DAY // Germany

Germany has its own tradition: Many hide their kitchen knives so that returning spirits won't be accidentally harmed (or use the same knives to harm the living).

I have to admire Germany's dedication to knife safety during Halloween. It is important to consider the health of returning spirits who could accidentally be harmed by a knife. I wonder if German homeowners insurance policies cover such incidents. I think them being dead would eliminate any possibility of a ghost lawsuit for negligence based on a living individual's unsafe knife storage. It's not like the spirits could get killed. They must have some pretty harsh spirits in Germany who use knives against the living. It's a good thing these German spirits aren't' into running people over with cars. If that was the case, car insurance in Germany would be really expensive.

Below is a link to the story.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/506197/12-halloween-traditions-around-world

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Electronic Devices Designed to Know What You are Feeling. A Real Story.

2019-10-30T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have never warmed up to many different electronic devices. I don't like electronic devices that talk to me. During the years, I've gotten into too many arguments with my GPS over directions. It always thinks it knows the best route, but when I tell it I'm going a different way, it just keeps talking and disagreeing with me. I've screamed at my GPS to shut up, said some very disparaging things about its voice and even told it I was not its first owner and I had no idea how many men had used it. It keeps talking to me like it is not even listening to a word I say. At times, it feels like we're married. Now, there is an effort to develop electronic devices that can tell you what you're feeling. I don't think this would work too well with me.

“Will you shut up, I'm going the back way to my friend's house.”

“Turn right at the next intersection.”

“No, I told you I'm going down Ron's driveway to Ed's driveway and then back onto the road. It will cut out at least twenty minutes on my trip.”

“You seem angry.”

“You seem to to be one GPS unit that does not know how to shut up.”

“Could you have suppressed anger issues because your mother screamed so much when you were learning how to drive?”

“Hey, that shows how much you know, my mother, father, and dog screamed all the time when I was learning how to drive.”

“Maybe you should learn how to drive.”

“Maybe you should learn how easily you can be disconnected and sold for parts.”

“You have not reached your final destination and I don't care.”

“Good.”

Crum, who is the chief scientist at Dolby Laboratories in San Francisco, CA, and an adjunct professor at Stanford University in the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics, defines empathetic technology as "technology that is using our internal state to decide how it will respond and make decisions."

So now there is a type of technology that will try to determine how we make decisions and respond. Will we be sitting in our living rooms someday and watching sports when Alexa will tell us there is a 79 percent chance we are excited about the game we are watching, but are feeling anxious because our team is losing. If I heard this, it would not be beyond me to commit Alexa-side. I may try to discover if Alexa can answer questions after surviving someone beating it with a baseball bat. Using Alexa for target practice may do well. You could ask if it had any last words before hitting filling Alexa full of lead. It just seems we have enough aggravation in our lives, we don't need electronic devices focusing on our feelings. Unless they come out with a version of Alexa you can beat and vent your frustration. It would probably be a huge selling item. They could call it Beat on Me Alexa.

How much sweat a person's skin secretes, as well as the changes in the electrical resistance of the skin can predict "stress, excitement, engagement, frustration, and anger."

Furthermore, humans exhale chemicals, such as carbon dioxide and isoprene, when they feel lonely or scared. In fact, in the TED talk below, Crum had tracked the carbon dioxide that members of the audience exhaled when they watched suspenseful scenes from a thriller movie.

(Sarcasm Alert)

I wonder what predictions are made when a person comes in from mowing the lawn and is covered with sweat? It wouldn't take much to predict feeling tired and wanting to take a shower in this situation. Could you sit outside on a hot day, as sweat forms on you, and have an electronic device falsely accuse you of being angry? Is it possible to be exercising and have an electronic device falsely accuse you of feeling stress? Maybe the device could be designed to detect when a human is feeling anger and stress at being around such an annoying electronic device?

I suppose if you track carbon dioxide from people watching a movie, you know all there is to know about people feeling scared or lonely. If they are really scared, it may not be carbon dioxide that is in the air. It may be someone who needs to change their pants. I just imagine telling someone they are lonely and when they disagree, someone tells them an electronic device has measured their carbon dioxide and according to the electronic device they are lonely. A person could say they had too much garlic for lunch and that always provides a false reading.

We are moving towards "the era of the empath," as Poppy Crum has dubbed it — an era where "technology will know more about us than we do," but also an era where we will know more about each other than ever before.

So, a machine will know more about you than you know about yourself. In the future, we could be living in a world where you say your favorite color is blue, but an electronic device tells you it is red. You say you hate liver, but an electronic device tells you it is your favorite food. An electronic device tells you that your love of math is a good thing no matter how much you tell your electronic device you enjoy art much more. The future will be more than having electronic devices telling us our feelings, it will be like having an electronic parent treat you like you are a perpetual teenager for years. I don't see this as something that is mentally healthy.

"[AI] is often feared because people think it will replace who we are. With empathetic technology, AI can make us better, not replace us. It can also assure us and our doctors that the interventions they prescribe are actually solving the problems we have.

I disagree. This is not the reason people fear AI. It is feared because there will always be individuals who actually value the opinions of an electronic device over those of a human being. The worst fear of all is not being able to turn off AI, or the people who try to tell us how great it is to have our feelings interpreted by machines. AI is making it so people don't have to think, they let AI do it for them. It is developing into an unhealthy dependence.

I'm sure all of my electronic devices will now band together and try to force me to see things their way. I may never be forgiven for the GPS in the electronic recycle bin incident, but the devices in my home will just have to learn to live with it and consider it a warning.

Below is a link to the article.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324965.php

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Visit the Disgusting Food Museum. A Real Story

2019-10-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

When I was a kid, going on a field trip was an exciting time. We would go and see the zoo, a science center as well as the museum and more. Museums had neat things like rocks, dinosaur bones, moon rocks and more. Part of our visit always involved a trip to the gift shop. This was a special place where we could spend money cheap stuff including everything from a dinosaur bone key chain to a fake moon rock with a picture of the moon behind it and more. Things are sure different now. In Los Angeles, there is the disgusting food museum. I remember growing up what adults thought was disgusting to us kids often seemed sort of neat. Putting ketchup on macaroni and cheese could make my father nauseated and was forbidden. I once put mustard on my french fries. My parents felt I may have some sort of food preference disorder I inherited from my cousin who lived in Eastern Europe. I don't know what it would be like to visit the Disgusting Food Museum, but I bet they have some really neat and cheap things in their gift shop based on their displays.

“Uugh, this is a picture of macaroni and cheese with ketchup. That is disgusting.”

“Do you not like it?”

“No, but my son will love it. I'll take two and throw in that picture from Eastern Europe of french fries with mustard.”

“Oh, okay.”

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

Escargot. Cow brains. Turtle soup. Rocky Mountain oysters. Depending on where a person’s from and what culture they were raised in, these foods either sound delicious or supremely unappetizing. Then again, lots of Americans subsist on deep-fried nuggets of molded pink meat slime, so what qualifies as disgusting is pretty subjective. But there’s an old rule of thumb in the food world: Never yuck someone else’s yum.

They forgot a few things my father would eat. He would dine on something called tripe. Should you have had the benefit of never experiencing this type of food, it is the lining of a cow's stomach. I was told tripe was for the discriminating palate and was made into the French dish Andouille. There are many things people eat if you cook it and put a French name to it. It is almost like you can prepare any disgusting animal or animal part, but if you put a French name to it, the dish is refined. That is probably the reason people are willing to kick out some serious cash for cooked snails known as Escargot.

“Oh, tell me garcon, what is the special tonight?”

“Ah, monsieur et madame, our special of the house tonight is cerveaux de vache served with a white wine sauce, a vegetable and cheese potatoes.”

“Wait a minute, isn't cerveaux de vache cow's brains?”

“So it is, maybe I could interest you in some jarret de cochon.”

“Hey, isn't that pig's knuckles?”

“Yes it is, but it is prepared like all tasty French cuisine and comes with a French sauce and an appetizing French name.”

“Okay, we'll take two.”

“Excellent choice monsieur et madame.”

Consumed in China as a health tonic for ailments including asthma and liver diseases, the drink recipe requires a handful of day-old, blind, and hairless baby mice that are drowned in a vat of rice wine and aged for up to a year. Critics have described the brew as tasting like gasoline, with an aftertaste of rotting animals (which makes sense). The smell is pungent and not for the faint of heart. Don’t expect to find this concoction on the wine list of your local Chinese joint.

I think if I had to drink a concoction made from hairless and blind baby mice, I may choose to have liver disease or asthma. I realize these are not just any hairless and blind baby mice, these mice have been aged for a year in rice wine. I wonder if they have exterminators in China going around with vats of rice wine in their vehicle so they can have a side business selling liver disease and asthma cures. They could tell potential customers, they won't just exterminate the mice in their dwelling, they'll exterminate their liver disease and asthma as well.

Sheep Eyeball Juice

Also known as a “Mongolian Mary,” this concoction is prepared using tomato juice and pickled sheep eyeballs, and is a hangover helper said to Genghis Khan. The jelly-like organs suspended in the drink are said to be highly nutritious when consumed in generous helpings.

(Sarcasm Alert)

I suppose if you wonder why Genghis Khan was able to conquer so much of the world, I believe sheep eyeball juice was probably part of his success. You may be one tough soldier, but you probably don't know tough until you've had a generous helping of sheep eyeball juice. I'm sure it works to cure hangovers. I doubt someone such as Genghis Khan would tolerate anyone giving him a concoction that didn't work. He may then have had, the idiot who provided me a faulty hangover cure eyeball juice. It's good to know that sheep eyeball is something that is nutritious. I would hate to think legions of blind sheep lost their sight in Mongolia for nothing.

Fruit Bat Soup

This delicacy from Guam may reek heavily of urine, but the sweet, final product is purportedly so rewarding that the native Chamorro people had nearly hunted the flying mammal to extinction. Exotic food connoisseurs beware—the bats can be carriers of dangerous toxins which, when consumed by humans, may lead to neurodegenerative disease.

So, I guess if you can get past the smell of urine, it is something great to have as a snack or as part of a meal.

This makes me wonder if the Chamorro people are immune to the dangerous toxins found in the bat or if they love it so much, they're willing to risk developing a neurodegenerative disease. I suppose it is sort of like eating Spam. You know it may not do wonders for your health, but when cooked over an open fire, it is difficult to resist. Twinkies are similar, but with all the preservatives it has, I often wonder if it could be helping preserve those of us who eat them.

“What smells like urine?”

“Dinner.”

“Oh, we're having fruit bat soup again?”

“Yes, with spam and Twinkies.”

“Those things are so disgusting. Give me my urine smelling fruit bat soup and that is all I want.”

“We are cooking the spam over an open fire.

“Okay, I'll have some.”

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/disgusting-food-museum/

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Man Arrested in China for Giving Dogs Illegal Names. A Real Story

2019-10-28T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have heard some names for dogs that I thought should be made illegal. There was a person who gave his dog the name of Dog. That lack of creativity and effort should be at the very least a misdemeanor. I knew a man who had a rather terrible divorce and named his dog after his former mother-in-law. When I asked him why, he said because his dog was a real bi#%h, just like his former mother-in-law. That should be worthy of a fine and probation. A guy in college named his dog Happy Henry Hump-a-lot. I believe that should be a felony and come with jail time. What I've written about punishment is fictional. It has nothing to do with real laws. In China, things are a bit different. A man was arrested by police for giving his dogs names that were illegal. There are a lot of things to make illegal, I think making laws to cover the naming of pets is a bit extreme. I do think there could be an exception made for someone naming their dog Happy Henry Hump-a-lot.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

A dog breeder in eastern China was detained by police on Monday after giving his two dogs "illegal" names that refer to government and civil service workers.

I guess government and civil service workers in China don't have much of a sense of humor. I wonder if he gave his dogs names like government office zombie or bumbling bureaucratic bulldog. I suppose the Chinese government would not appreciate naming a dog the kick-back Keeshond or corrupt Kuvasz. With my sense of humor, China would have me in jail before you could say, Pekingese political pundit.

The dog's names ended up attracting controversy because "Chengguan" are officials employed in urban areas to tackle low-level crime, while "Xieguan" are informal community workers such as traffic assistants, according to the BBC.

Zhangzhou Police said on Chinese social media site Weibo the information was "insulting law enforcement personnel," and prompted an investigation to be launched.

I guess the law enforcement personnel in China are a little sensitive. I don't think anyone would be offended here if we called our dogs magistrate or traffic cop. Here, it may be considered a sign of respect. It is so crazy in the United States, someone could name their dog after a police officer and then invite the police officer to the dog's birthday party. It could be complete with balloons, games and more.

Authorities added that "in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Public Security Administration Punishment," the man must spend 10 days in an administrative detention center.

A police officer told the newspaper Beijing News that Ban had been increasingly provocative on his WeChat account and his actions had "caused great harm to the nation and the city's urban management, in terms of their feelings," according to the BBC.

I can only imagine spending 10 days in jail because the government didn't like what you named your dog. It could be a problem if you named your dog nuclear launch code and had the launch code number in their collar, but other than that, I don't think it should be a problem. What kind of country has great harm because of what some guy names his dogs? Maybe the Chinese government should take into consideration the harm to the feelings of this man who is only guilty of giving his dogs the wrong names. Maybe we should consider how this makes the dogs feel. I'm certain the man is not brimming with joy and mirth over it. They are just dogs minding their own business being dogs, doing dog stuff and their owner is put in jail because of what he named them. These dogs are probably going to have to be in doggy therapy for a long time after this is over.

Ban, who local media outlets reported as being remorseful over his actions said he had just given the dogs the names "for fun."

"I don't know the law, I don't know if it is illegal," he told Fuyang News.

Interesting how it was reported by Fuyang News. I bet we have some news outlets in the United States providing some Fuyang News, and it is not a good thing. I don't understand why he couldn't get off with a warning.

“Sir, did you name your dogs after traffic assistants and magistrates?”

“Well, I guess I did, See, where I live we have this traffic cop who looks just like a bulldog, I thought the name fit and I named my bulldog after him.”

“Why did you name your other dog magistrate?”

“Oh, well, that dog, yeah, see, it just doesn't poop as he should. He's always full of crap, so I thought magistrate would be a good name for him.”

“You have done serious harm to our country and our government in terms of their feelings. I sentence you to 10 days in jail.”

“Why? You guys have all the money. Why don't you just get them therapy if they're so upset? Maybe join a feeling hurt by having a dog named after you support group. If they're so fragile, they get upset over having a dog named after them, they need help. I hope you never find out what I named my cat and goldfish.”

“What?”

“Never mind, I'm tired of dealing with a bunch of fuyang governmental bureaucrats.”

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.foxnews.com/world/china-dogs-man-detained-illegal-names

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Sumo Wrestlers Paid to Make Babies Cry. A Real Story.

2019-10-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

When my child was young, she had no problem crying. It was a skill she perfected at an early age and only improved upon as time passed. I have had friends with large families with an ability to block out the crying of many young children at the same time. Trying to avoid their children crying is a major activity in their home. I've not known of any child who needed to be motivated to cry. I have always believed that babies crying was a natural part of having children. In Japan, they have a different view of babies crying. These must be some very strong babies as sumo wrestlers are paid in Japan during a festival to make babies cry. I wonder why a sumo wrestler is necessary. Most babies will cry if they're hungry, thirsty, tired or need to be changed. I would be shocked if the sumo wrestler changed, fed or rocked the crying babies to sleep.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

Japanese parents believe the ritual will scare away demons and bring their children good health

For most new parents, stopping their child from screaming is a daily ordeal, to be endured rather than enjoyed.

But in the Nakizumo baby contest, the aim is the opposite.

Sumo wrestlers are employed to bring the babies to tears, in order to drive away evil demons.

I'm sure many parents believe they had children who seem to cry like they were possessed with evil demons. This seems to be very evident when some children reach their teenage years. So, Japanese people pay sumo wrestlers to make their babies cry and make evil demons go away from their progeny. I wonder how much a sumo wrestler gets paid to make a baby cry. Does a sumo wrestler with more experience at making babies cry cost more than one with less experience? I'm sure it's very important you are able to pay a sumo wrestler prior to engaging their services. Is it required for sumo wrestlers who make babies cry to join a union? I don't know what it would be like to have a sumo wrestler collect past due money from you, but I would not want to have such an experience.

It’s based on the Japanese proverb “Naku ko wa sodatsu”, or “crying babies grow fastest”, and parents believe the event brings good health to their children.

The sumo wrestlers pull faces, make noises and jiggle the babies, in order to get their child to cry the fastest.

They shout “Naki”, meaning “cry” in Japanese, in a literal attempt to make the babies weep.

If crying babies did grow the fastest, my child would have reached maturity by the age of three. I am a bit surprised that having a huge man scare your baby until it cries is considered a way to provide your baby with good health. Is a screaming baby considered equal to some type of childhood vaccination? I'm sure it would be worth the experience to see the sumo wrestlers, jiggle babies and make faces at them. I'm an adult and if a huge sumo wrestler yelled at me to cry, the tears would begin to flow. How do you determine the fastest crying baby? Is there a world record crying baby? Is there a crying baby Hall of Fame? I wonder about so many things.

The first baby to cry is declared the winner, but if both start crying at the same time, the louder baby wins.

Once they begin to sob, they are held up higher to increase the strength of the blessing.

I wonder if they have ever had a challenge to the winner and an official was required to review a video to determine the decibel level of the winning crying baby and its challenger.

It could be an intense moment when crying babies and sumo wrestlers need an official carefully reviews a video to determine the winner.

“Upon further review, we have determined the challenger did cry first by a few seconds and was a decibel level above the declared winner.”

The official then runs from the area chased by a sumo wrestler holding a crying baby.

I'm sure thing can get intense during these competitions.

If the child doesn’t cry, laugh or fall asleep, the referee, or gyoji, puts on his devil mask to speed up the proceedings.

The 400-year-old ritual takes place all over Japan but is most famously performed by the student sumos of Tokyo’s Sensoji Buddhist temple.

The Nakizumo contest is held at the high point of spring, which coincides with Japan’s Children’s Day holiday.

I'm impressed with the attitude all children will cry. A rookie sumo wrestler can't get a baby to cry by yelling at it, it's no problem. He may not win, but an official will put on a devil mask in an effort to terrify the child. If I were to watch all of this, I would start crying and looking for a place to have some sushi. It would be my comfort food.

It's good to know sumo wrestlers making babies cry is a tradition that has been happening for hundreds of years. You have to wonder if some Japanese politician hundreds of years ago was mad at some sumo wrestlers and told them as punishment they had to make babies cry. If they don't make them cry, an official will make the baby cry. One way or another, there will be crying babies. I believe this an idea by a person who did not have children or really disliked sumo wrestlers.

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/10791221/Japans-baby-crying-festival-in-pictures.html

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City Gives Lake Erie Same Rights as Human Beings. A Real Story

2019-10-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

I do believe in protecting a person's rights. As American citizens, we have certain rights when it comes to the law, voting, employment and more. These rights are vital to us being productive citizens of our American society. The citizens of Toledo, Ohio, believe that citizens of America have rights, but they also believe Lake Erie should have rights like any American citizen. They voted for Lake Erie to have the same legal rights as a human being. I wonder how the other great lakes feel about this development. I'm sure Lake Michigan would have an issue with it since this is the only great lake entirely inside the United States. I wonder who Lake Michigan will be voting for in the next election?

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

Voters in Toledo, Ohio, approved the Lake Erie Bill of Rights on Tuesday, granting the body of water the same legal rights as a human being.

The measure was approved during a special election and passed with 61 percent approval, according to the Sandusky Register.

This makes me wonder about the campaign to make Lake Erie have human rights. Was there a special group that was organized called Human Rights for Lake Erie? Did the group go around and speak to prospective voters about it?

After a knock on the door.

“Hello, who are you?”

“I'm here on behalf of Human Rights for Lake Erie. We are working on a measure to grant Lake Erie the same rights as a human being.”

“It's an intimate object.”

“It's a living breathing ecosystem that needs to be granted rights for its survival.”

“What happens if the fish in the lake refuse to go along with it?”

“They're fish.”

“Oh, you support a lake having rights but are willing to discriminate against the fish in the lake. I can't support this movement.”

“Why?”

“I'm the head of Human Rights for the Fish of Lake Erie”

“Oh.”

Under the measure, residents are granted the right to take legal action on behalf of the lake when its right to "flourish and naturally evolve" has been violated.

Supporters of the measure say the law is the first of its kind in the U.S. and will guarantee the body of water protection from significant environmental harm.

(Sarcasm Alert)

If Lake Erie decides to sue someone for violation of their right to flourish and naturally evolve, I wonder how it will appear in court. How will opposing counsel be able to question Lake Erie? Will Lake Erie be able to describe how exactly its right to flourish and naturally evolve rights were infringed? This could create a new area of the law practiced by lake rights representatives. If this is all it takes to protect nature from experiencing significant environmental harm, national parks should be given the same rights as human beings. This could also be expanded to cover parks, mountains, streams and more. If a lake decided to sue a mountain, I bet things would get interesting.

It was definitely a long, hard struggle to get to this day, but all the hard work and countless volunteer hours by everyone in our local community group has paid off,” she told the Register.

“We started this more than two years ago and had to overcome election board decisions and protests in court just to get on the ballot,” she continued.

(Sarcasm Alert)

I'm shocked. Why would any person have an issue with granting human rights to one of the Great Lakes? What is wrong with these people? Giving human rights to lakes should not be a problem to have on the ballot. I'm surprised it never happened before. Next thing you know people with be upset with the idea of giving vehicles the same rights as humans as well as buildings, computers and more. This type of discrimination must be stopped before it starts.

What kind of person actually thinks giving a lake human rights is a good idea? I suppose lakes are able to work and pay taxes, raise little lakes and have them grow up to become productive members of American lake society.

It may not make any sense, but I'm sure the idea made people of a certain mindset feel good and morally superior. To these people, this is probably more important than reality.

The push to obtain such rights for the lake comes on the heels of the 2014 Toledo water crisis, United Press International reported. Toxic algae blooms in the lake, which was caused by chemical fertilizer runoff from local farms reportedly became so thick that drinking water from the lake was unsafe.

Now, why would anybody want to file a lawsuit against farmers and their chemical runoff? I suppose making a lake have the same rights as a human being will resolve the issue. I'm sure Lake Erie could be given special protected status since it is the only lake that has the same legal rights as a human. This will make it eligible for a number of different federal government programs. I doubt all of this will make the water from Lake Erie any more drinkable than when it was just a lake without human rights. It doesn't matter because there I'm sure there are delusional people somewhere thinking they did something noble. At the very least their story was part of the news cycle for a short period of time.

Below is a link to the article.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/431859-lake-erie-becomes-first-lake-to-be-granted-the-same-legal-rights-as

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Competitive Snail Racing. A Real Story.

2019-10-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

I must admit as I grow older, I don't like things as fast-paced as when I was younger. The quickness of events is not as important to me anymore. I feel I have more patience with things. When it comes to sports, I still like the speed of things happening. I find myself envying young people and their ability to move so quickly with their sport. At this stage of the game, I can only dream of having such skills. There is a sport in England that may be a little to slow even for me, it is snail racing. I don't think my admiration for the speed of the athletes in this sport would be much of an issue. I'm sure I can watch them for a few more years and feel I can move just as fast as these athletes.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

CONGHAM, England (Reuters) - The race starter stood up and shouted: “Ready, steady, slow!” The crowd cheered, but the competitors remained stuck at the start line. Welcome to the world snail racing championship.

More than 150 snails took part in the annual event, held at a summer fete in Norfolk, eastern England on Saturday where a silver tankard stuffed with lettuce leaves were the prize.

Not only are these athletes at a speed I can handle, but they also compete for a salary I could afford to pay them. I wonder what is involved with being a snail racing breeder? I'm sure it could someday be a big business.

I also wonder if the owners of these racing snails have agents who try and negotiate endorsement deals for the snails.

“I know you want my racing snail to be the spokesnail for your organization. I don't know if my snail escargot is the right fit for the project.”

“Are you kidding me? He's perfect. Our advertising campaign is all about slowing down to enjoy our cereal. If there is one thing escargot is good at doing, it is slowing down. Since he is also a racing champion, he'll appeal to the desire to be a racing athlete in all of our consumers.”

“Your target audience is senior citizens.”

“Hey, they may be old, but they probably feel they could still beat a snail in a race. What do you say?”

“A million dollars and all of the lettuce and cereal escargot can eat.”

“It's a deal.”

The snails are placed on a special damp cloth marked with three concentric circles and the creatures race 13 inches (33 cm) to the outer ring.

I would hate to be an announcer trying to cover this race.

“It looks like Speedy Snail is making his move. He's gone half an inch in the last twenty minutes. Hot on his trail is The Flash Snail, he has gone at least an inch in the last twenty minutes. I wouldn't count out Running Demon Snail. He has gone a quarter of an inch in the past fifteen minutes. The excitement of this race is too much for most people, so I hope you can hang on until the end and a winner is declared.”

I'm sure there is a story of a snail from a poor part of town that nobody realizes is a true racing champion. He is given an opportunity to compete against the best racing snails in the land and wins. Before this happens, he must overcome snail racing injuries. Maybe the movie could be called Snailbiscut.

“We take this seriously,” snail racer John McClean told Reuters.

“We have got training slopes. We look at diet, we are drug compliant as well. It is the whole thing when you look at elite sports.”

Can you imagine being told your snail can't compete in a race because it tested positive for steroids? I think it is a special person who has the skills and patience necessary to train snails for racing. I suppose it may be a challenge to get a snail to stop having beer and fried foods when they are training for a race.

“I know you're just a snail, but you have to climb that slope one more time.”

“I can't, I'm exhausted.”

“One more time and do it under eighteen minutes this time and you can go home.”

“I too tired.”

“Do it for the snail racing champion within you who want to win the race.”

“Okay.”

The competition has been held since the 1960s with each race lasting several minutes. Competitors are able to select a snail from the organizers’ stash or bring their own.

Jo Waterfield from the nearby village of Grimston found the eventual winner among her plants.

“I pulled him out this morning and told him if he didn’t win I would squash him,” Waterfield told Reuters.

(Sarcasm Alert)

A poor snail is just being in a garden doing what snails do and then is pulled up by some gigantic human who tells him if he doesn't win a race she'll squish him. Where is the Society for the Prevention of Snails Being Squished (SPSBS) when you need them?

I'm sure the world of competitive snail racing can be as shady as any horse racing event.

Next thing you know snail owners will try to invent all sorts of undetectable snail performance enhancement drugs. A snail will move 13 inches in a minute and nobody will know why, but everyone will be suspicious. Could this be in the future of this sport?

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-snailracing/ready-steady-slow-snails-slug-it-out-at-racing-world-championship-idUSKBN1KD1Q0

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Self-driving Vehicle Pulled over by Police Officer. A Real Story

2019-10-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

Technology is certainly changing things. I can remember when only people drove cars. Should a person driving the car have disobeyed a traffic law, they were given a ticket by a police officer who caught them. This was a time when people came up with a variety of excuses for breaking traffic laws. Police officers have heard everything from people were speeding because they needed to get to a bathroom or they did a wrong turn because their friend told them it was okay and more. I was once pulled over by a police officer who asked me if I knew why he pulled me over. I told him I wasn't a betting man, but I bet he was going to tell me. I quickly learned wit and humor are not good to use when being given a traffic ticket.

Today, technology has provided an additional problem for law enforcement officers who are dedicated to protecting people from vehicles breaking traffic laws. They are called self-driving vehicles. Does this mean a vehicle has to worry about getting points on its driving license? Will the insurance provider for self-driving vehicles raise the insurance rates if the vehicle is given a speeding ticket? I do wonder who will provide a law enforcement officer with a drivers license, registration, and proof of insurance.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

A self-driving shuttle got pulled over by police on its first day carrying passengers on a new Rhode Island route.

Providence Police Chief Hugh Clements said an officer pulled over the odd-looking autonomous vehicle because he had never seen one before.

"It looked like an oversized golf cart," Clements said.

I'm sure it was an interesting conversation when the police officer told his dispatch he was asking permission to pull over a vehicle that looked like an oversized golf cart. I'm sure he made his case when he told dispatch it was on the road and not a golf course.

How would you feel if you were on a driverless shuttle and it got pulled over by the police?

“Excuse me, where is the driver?”

“There isn't one. It's a driverless vehicle.”

“What are you doing on the vehicle?”

“I'm the passenger using it to get to a stop.”

“If this vehicle gets into an accident, there won't be a driver to file a lawsuit against.”

“You're right, let me off of this thing.”

The shuttle offers free rides on a 12-stop urban loop that links to a train station Each vehicle holds six people, including an attendant who takes control when the self-driving technology falls short, such as on difficult left turns with oncoming traffic.

This could lead to an interesting conversation.

“Could I see your drivers license, registration, and proof of insurance.”

“Okay, but I wasn't driving the vehicle.”

“Who was driving the vehicle?”

“The vehicle was driving itself. I told the vehicle it was making an illegal turn, but did this vehicle listen to me? It didn't and now look what happened. I think you should give the vehicle a ticket and teach it a lesson.”

“Since your the only human here, I think I'll give you a ticket.”

“Well, there are humans who are associated with the operation of this vehicle, so maybe everybody should get a ticket.”

“You are making me suspicious. You don't want to have a law enforcement officer suspicious of you. It would be a mistake.”

“Will the vehicle have to show up to court with me when I challenge the ticket?

“You'll have to ask the judge.”

In a part of New England known for impatient and aggressive drivers, local officials have braced themselves for how motorists will react to the slow-moving vehicles. Built by Minnesota-based Polaris Industries, the vehicles have a glass roof and resemble a tiny bus, but with seats that snugly face each other.

How frustrating for New England drivers to display their creative use of hand signals to another driver only to realize, there is no other driver. I'm sure the anger they feel could only be increased by hurling unique expletives at a fellow driver and discovering they are wasting their creative swearing on a driverless vehicle. I may get angry at a driverless vehicle simply because it has snugly facing seats. I don't know what is considered snugly facing, but I think it's deserving of some swearing.

Officials chose a route that has little traffic but connects commuters from neighborhoods underserved by public transit to Amtrak, commuter rail and other bus stops. The pilot is partially funded from a government settlement with Volkswagen for modifying vehicles to cheat on emissions tests.

I suppose the advantage of having access to Amtrak is the train won't be pulled over by a police officer. If this was done successfully by a police officer, it would be worthy of an international news story. Maybe there is a thank you should be given to Volkswagen for cheating on their emissions tests. If they had been an honest company, and properly modified their vehicles, a policeman in Rhode Island may have never been able to pull over a driverless vehicle.

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.foxnews.com/auto/rhode-island-cop-self-driving-car

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Human Brains Can Develop A Region For Pokémon Characters. A Real Story.

2019-10-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

When my child was young Pokémon was very popular. There was the Pokémon shows, movie, games, books and many more. Much time was spent playing with different types of Pokémon cards. During my youth baseball was also huge. I spent quite a bit of time outside playing baseball, watching baseball games on television as well as listening to them on the radio. My room was filled with magazines about baseball and so many baseball cards I don't like to think about the money spent on them. It seems there is a big difference between a love of baseball and a love of Pokémon. Those who love Pokémon have a region of their brain dedicated to it. Nobody ever accused us dedicated baseball fans of having a region of our brain dedicated to it. We knew there was a region of our mind and heart dedicated to it. If they would have tried to study one of us, we would have been too busy doing something involving baseball to participate.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

A partial answer comes from recent studies in monkeys at Harvard Medical School. Researchers there found that in order for regions dedicated to a new category of objects to develop in the visual cortex -- the part of the brain that processes what we see -- then exposure to those objects must start young when the brain is particularly malleable and sensitive to a visual experience.

I guess this makes perfect sense. I'm sure those all-knowing Harvard Medical School Researchers noticed these monkeys were insistent that the Pokémon character Chimchar be part of their game. I guess this means every time they saw a monkey they believed it to be Chimchar?

“Look, it is Chimchar.”

“That is not a monkey, it is the professor for this class.”

“Is the professor named Chimchar?”

“No.”

“I bet the professor is at least a fire Pokémon.”

“You did play that game a lot during your youth.”

“You have no idea. I think I'm still in my youth.”

“I believe you.”

Playing baseball at such a young age did help me develop an ability to catch fast moving objects, hit things with a bat and run around in circles. It's helped with being an adult in many situations. There is being the best hitter on the softball teams at work, running around in circles during my job and catching fast moving objects in my apartment thrown at me during an argument with a female I dated prior to meeting my wife.

Once funded, Gomez recruited adults who had played Pokémon extensively as children. He found 11, including himself and Michael Barnett, the lab manager at the time and a co-author on the study.

When the test subjects were placed inside a functional MRI scanner and shown hundreds of random Pokémon characters, their brains responded more to the images compared to a control group who had not played the videogame as children.

(Sarcasm Alert)

It is good to know there is funding available for researchers at Harvard Medical School to spend time in an MRI looking at Pokémon characters. I feel this is profound research designed to benefit mankind since it involved eleven people including two of the researchers. Future generations will look back and know without any lingering doubt that parts of their brain are dedicated to a video game they played as a child. This will probably be the basis for these future generations to provide a perfect society. I suppose past generations could have been hampered by the lack of such research. If only those of us who loved baseball could have benefited from such groundbreaking scientific research. I'm sure it was due to a lack of funding.

The site of the brain activations for Pokémon was also consistent across individuals. It was located in the same anatomical structure -- a brain fold located just behind our ears called the occipitotemporal sulcus. As best the researchers can tell, this region typically responds to images of animals (which Pokémon characters resemble).

It is amazing that human brain activation was the same as individuals viewing Pokémon characters. How interesting it is located in a section of the brain right behind the ear. I wonder if there is a part of the brain that is consistent with figuring out ways to get funding to spend time with a childhood video game? It may be the same part of the brain that tries to sell real estate in the Everglades to people with limited understanding of geography. Maybe its the part of the brain that helps telemarketers sell magazines to people whether they want them or not. I'm sure this type of research will require additional funding.

The new findings are just the latest evidence that our brains are capable of changing in response to experiential learning from a very early age, Grill-Spector said, but that there are underlying constraints hardwired into the brain that shape and guide how those changes unfold.

Makes you wonder what happens if a child was punished and had their Pokémon playing privileges revoke. They may excel at playing the game after eating all of the vegetables at dinner. Is it possible some children will grow up to not understand Pokémon is just a game?

“I'm ready to join the Army.”

“Are you proficient at handling weapons, explosives and are physically fit?”

“I guess in a way.”

“What do you mean?”

“I've reached the highest level on Pokémon and I'm one of the best at battling.”

“We have to talk.”

Below is a link to the story

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190506163644.htm

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The Latest Quest to Discover and Communicate With Extraterrestrials. A Real Story.

2019-10-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

I'm probably like a lot of people. I've read plenty of books and watched many different movies about aliens from another planet coming here to earth. If you ask me if I think it is possible, I would say a few years ago many people believed the Chicago Cubs winning another World Series could never happen. The Chicago Cubs did win another World Series in 2016, so I suppose anything is possible.

When it comes to people from another planet visiting us, it does make me wonder what type of conversation would take place. There would probably be a machine designed to unscramble the language of the alien beings into ours. They would be on a screen with all of their elongated heads and huge eyes speaking into a device that seems to be a microphone.

“Hello, people of this planet. We have watched you at a distance with amazement for several years. It is good to be able to communicate with you.”

“What have you found out about our planet that impresses you?”

“It was amazing the Chicago Cubs won a World Series 2016, but the Cleveland Cavaliers winning a basketball championship in 2016 was even more amazing.”

“Anything else?”

“We've tried to replicate the iced caramel macchiato on our planet with little luck. We have done better with designing our own version of a Subway sandwich.”

“Oh.”

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

ETs are on our mind. At the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, an entire evening’s event was all about extraterrestrials. A special dance troupe performed to an eclectic mix of sounds. The sounds were excerpts taken from a famous golden record, intended for intelligent life in the universe. The 12-inch copper gold plated disk is known as the Pioneer Golden Record.

(Sarcasm Alert)

I guess it is good to know the California Academy of Sciences had a dance troupe perform to sounds that were an eclectic mix. What beings from another planet could resist coming to such a party? Since they were taken from a famous golden record that is roaming around space, I suppose it all makes sense. Did anyone think to send in a record player into space with it? They are hard to find here, I can only imagine the cost would be to import one to another planet. What if these beings look at this golden disc and use it to invent the Frisbee. If they do figure out a way to play the golden disc, I hope they realize there is actually a dance performed in San Francisco that goes with it.

“We can do more than just gaze at the stars.” remarked Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, who along with his wife, Julia, in 2015 unveiled a project called the Breakthrough Initiatives to search for extraterrestrial intelligence over the span of at least 10 years.

Part of the Initiatives program includes a $1,000,000 Breakthrough Message competition, where the task is to design a digital message to send to advanced civilizations.

I can only imagine what the winner of the digitally designed message could be for advanced civilizations. I know in the United States, it is possible for companies to design their own digital messages. I bet McDonald's message would provide a discount on their new McIntellersteller burger. It may come with lunar fries and a drink that is out of this world. Walmart message would be offering anything beings from another planet would need for their journey back to their world. It could include solar powered heaters, electrical rechargers and more. The insurance companies message would want to make certain the space aliens are covered in case they have an accident or emergency when they are here. It is possible beings from another planet know this and have chosen to avoid this planet.

“It’s a message written in a language of math and science,” said Vakoch. He explained that the messages would be sent by radio or in the near future, by lasers, using very brief laser pulses. Unlike the Voyager golden record which contains a virtual encyclopedia of information about the earth, METI message will focus on one topic at a time, but each message will be repeated multiple times over the course of days, weeks, and months.

I wonder if the beings from another planet will communicate and say they are sick and tired of reading messages in the language of science and math. They may say the constant transmissions are annoying and to stop them. It's possible they'll find these transmissions as annoying as political advertising. These space aliens may request to read some classic fiction like The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells or Journey to Mars by Gustavus W. Pope. If they want to read anything by James Patterson, they need to go back to the planet where they came from and never bother us again.

Not everyone agrees we should go warp-speed with rapidly concocting and sending messages.

“I’ve seen Mars Attacks and that ended horribly! So I don’t know.” laughed Alicia Adams who was stargazing on the roof of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

“I think it’s a scary concept of actually letting people whom we don’t know, or things we don’t know, know we’re here,” said Grainne Barron who was visiting from Ireland.

(Sarcasm Alert)

I suppose if you've seen Mars Attacks, you have justified reason to fear beings from another planet. I hope there are people in San Francisco who realize that was a fictional movie and not a documentary. Something tells me they may be working on a dance routine to match the movie for when beings from another planet arrive. It is frightening to think of what could actually happen when making contact with beings from another planet. Will they want to destroy us, take us over, criticize the dance routines created in San Francisco or give our music some really bad reviews on social media. It is possible for anything to happen.

As for Dr. Drake, he doesn’t believe Planet Earth needs a new message. Thanks to television and radio signals traveling in space ever since we’ve been broadcasting, Drake, thinks intelligent beings already know we’re here.

“It’s too late, folks. We’ve made our presence known big-time,” said Drake.

If beings from other planets know we are here and haven't attempted to communicate with us after we have made such an effort to communicate with them, there could be some good reasons. They may not understand what we've tried to communicate with them, they may not care what we have tried to communicate with them or they are still shocked with the Cavaliers and Cubs winning championships in 2016. I suppose we will all have to wait to find out.

Below is a link to the story.

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2019/04/25/messages-extraterrestrial-life-advancing-digital-age/

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England Has an Annual Toe Wrestling Championship. A Real Story.

2019-10-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

I am the first to admit I have never been much of an athlete. I've never been very fast or moved very quick except when my favorite dessert was being served for dinner. When chocolate cake with chocolate icing was on the menu, I would match my quickness and speed with that of Usain Bolt. It's possible my athletic career may have been a success if I was told there was a chocolate cake with chocolate icing waiting for me in the end zone or at the end of the race. My life could have then forever been changed. There is a sport in England that I suppose requires training and athletic ability. It is toe wrestling. Since it started in 1976, England has been the place for toe athletes from around the world to compete. I wonder if it is a consideration to be an Olympic event or if winners get a chocolate cake with chocolate icing?

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

The sport got its start when a group of friends at the Ye Olde Royal Oak Inn lamented England's lack of dominance in athletics—they wanted a sport where Brits could reign supreme, and somehow, toe wrestling became the chosen activity. (Ripley’s, however, notes that a Canadian visitor won the third annual championship, putting an early damper on the British preeminence of the sport.)

(Sarcasm Alert)

I like how the English were disappointed they were not able to dominate a current sporting event, so they tried to create one where they could dominate. I wonder if they considered fish and chip eating contests, running after people yelling “oy” or confusing Americans with their accent a worthy competitive event. I'm sure the English would dominate in any of these competitions. It's a shame a Canadian won the championship. I don't know what's worse, inventing a sport you can dominate and losing to a Canadian or depending on toe wrestling to prove you can dominate an athletic competition. Maybe the English could invent a sport involving toe wrestling and curling and then show those Canadians how the English can dominate a sport.

Though it might not be a competition on the global stage, toe wrestling definitely attracts interest from around the world. Wendy Livingstone, general manager and events coordinator for Toe Wrestling Championship venue Bentley Brook Inn, notes she gets interest from various international media. In fact, one U.S. film company is shooting a mockup of the competition this summer with long-time champion Alan "Nasty" Nash. Nash, known for his intimidating "strong man" physique and even more intimidating big toes, has made quite a name for himself in the toe wrestling space.

I can only imagine the nervousness someone would experience knowing they are going to be going toe-to-toe (couldn't resist) with someone named Nasty Nash in toe wrestling. I would be seriously hoping this nickname had nothing to do with the man's hygiene habits for his feet. If I were to see my competitor's big toe covered in athlete's foot, I'm forfeiting the match. I would always prefer to toe wrestle with someone known as Hygienically Healthy Henry or Clean Foot Freddie. I'm sure you can have a strong man toe physique and be properly clean. I can just imagine what a Hollywood film would be like for this sport.

The story could involve a down and out young guy who lives near the docks and makes his living getting paid by a gangster to kick people. As part of a promotion for the sport, he gets one shot against the toe wrestling champion in an exhibition match to make something of himself. The match doesn't go well, and his toe is severely torn up during it. His toe wrestling coach tries to talk him out of continuing with the match, but he refuses.

“I'm calling the match Tootsie. You've got nothing left. You're getting killed out there.”

“Don't call the match. I ain't quitting.”

“Your toenail is almost torn off, your toe looks like it is out of joint, you can't go on.”

“It's my life. Cut me.”

“No.”

“I said cut me.”

“It's your life kid.”

The coach cuts the toenail off the big toe and Tootsie hobbles back into the toe wrestling ring. He continues to battle the toe wrestling champion to a draw. It would make a great Hollywood movie, but it seems oddly familiar.

Toe wrestling is a competition between two participants. With their bare feet in a square ring, opponents sit on the floor, lock their big toes, and then battle in an arm-wrestle style to wrangle the other’s foot to the sideboard of the designated wrestling area. The art of toe wrestling is more skill than strength; opponents are required to keep non-competing feet in the air with hands flat on the ground.

I wonder if a toe wrestler would normally have a coach that trains them. They may have to lift weights with their big toe. Is it possible they would have to try and catch a wild chicken nugget with their toe? It would be interesting to go to a gym and see people hitting a punching bag and others skipping rope as a person in one corner of the gym using his big toe to lift weights and kick a punching bag as part of his training. Does a toe wrestling athlete start their day by eating raw eggs, running and smashing steel bars with their big toe? I don't know if that is what happens, but it does sound oddly familiar.

Here is a link to the article.

http://mentalfloss.com/article/502081/inside-englands-annual-toe-wrestling-championship

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A Horse Will Remember a Person's Facial Expression. A Real Story

2019-10-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have known people who are able to remember the names of individuals no matter how many people they meet. My ability to remember a new person's name is maybe ten seconds. I wish I could remember people's names. The good thing is most people forget my name so conversations can get interesting between me and someone who I have just been introduced to and neither of us can remember the one's name.

“I'm sure you had a nickname in high school”

“No, I'm sure you have a nickname at work.”

“No, I forgot your name and we were introduced a few minutes ago.'

“Oh good, I forgot your name also. Now, I don't feel so bad.”

“What is your name?”

“I don't know, but it's okay because I don't know the name of anybody else.”

“Huh?”

A study has been done that shows a horse remembers the facial expressions of people they have previously seen. This is a good thing. They may know when someone who did not have Gax-X with their meal but should have used it.

Below are excerpts from the story with my valuable insights in italics.

SUSSEX, England — Some people never forget a face. Apparently, neither do horses. A study by researchers at the University of Sussex and the University of Portsmouth found that horses can remember the facial expressions of people they’ve seen before.

The researchers believe horses use this ability to discern people who might be a threat to them.

I bet horses will be attracted to happy people, stay away from angry people and try and get as much food as possible from dumb people. Being able to determine the meaning of a person's facial expression is valuable. I learned early in my marriage to look for an escape route when my wife would give me the look. It is the expression a wife gives her husband clearly communicating he has done something wrong without saying it. Once a man has detected his wife having the look, fear overcomes him like an antelope that has just seen a hungry lioness. The only means of escape could be throwing chocolate and running the other way. It has saved me more than once.

For the study, the authors showed domesticated horses a photograph of an angry or happy human face. A few hours later, the real person seen in the photograph would interact with the horse in an emotionally neutral state. The horses showed distinct differences in subsequent responses when meeting the individual in person later the same day.

I wonder what the distinct differences the horses displayed? Did they run from the person with the angry expression? Were they calm with the person who had a happy expression? Did they see past the forced expressions and go get a person some Gas-X?

I can only imagine what it would be like with a horse from New York City.

“Aye, why you got to go and look all angry and everything?”

“Hey, you're a talking horse.”

“Don't go getting all crazy about it. My great grandfather was named Mister Ed. You know what I mean?”

“Making facial expressions were part of an experiment.”

“Aye, I got your experiment right here. How about you go and get me some carrots.”

“Why would I go and get you carrots?”

“Because you ain't had your Gax-X, and I'm a talking horse that can tell anyone who will listen that smell ain't from me. We got a deal?”

“The carrots are on their way.”

“Pleasure doing business with you.”

Even though humans meeting the horses in person was in a neutral state during their interaction, the direction of the horses’ gaze proved to the research team that they perceived the person more negatively if they had seen a photo of them looking angry than if they saw a photo of the person looking happy.

(Sarcasm Alert)

They can tell if a horse knows a person was angry or happy because of the horses' gaze. I wonder what they can tell if the horse makes a loud whinny sound? Maybe researchers believe this is a sign the horse does not like a person's clothes and they are recommending the person try a new type of fashion. If a horse hits its hoof on the ground, this could mean the horse believes a person should try a new hairstyle. If a horse turns its back to a person and releases some of its feces, this could mean the horse finds this person disgusting and is ready to go on vacation. I'm sure there is a special horse gaze associated with many different things.

“We know that horses are socially intelligent animals, but this is the first time any mammal has been shown to have this particular ability,” says co-lead author Dr. Leanne Proops.

I'm sure it is beneficial to society for horses to remember people's expressions. A horse will notice the joy on people's faces when they win a race, or the pain on a person's face when they lose a race. They will also notice the look on a person's face who hasn't taken their Gas-X and know to stay far away from them.

Below is a link to the story.

https://www.studyfinds.org/study-finds-horses-can-remember-facial-expressions-from-people-theyve-seen-before/

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