boblog: ponderments about life Comments

by: Bob Smiley

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 05:00:33 +0000

Wow, she was young then! She looks quite different now.

by: Ted Burrett

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:17:31 +0000

If you want to read a reader’s feedback :) , I rate this post for 4/5. Detailed info, but I just have to go to that damn yahoo to find the missed bits. Thanks, anyway!

by: Bob Smiley

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 01:07:43 +0000

True… but it doesn’t rhyme nearly so well your way…

by: Blogographer

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 07:25:09 +0000

Although we can't undo the wonder of electricity (which, I am convinced, is understood by NO ONE, though some pretend to understand it), we can at least strike a match and indulge in the pleasure of reading by candlelight. For me, this connection to the souls who came before us is one of the joys of life -- a brief voyage into an age now forever lost, an age that produced more art and wisdom than we can today muster despite the supposed technological advantages of the modern era.

Ah, if only we could undo electricity.

by: The Blogographer

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 19:47:20 +0000

Ooh, ooh, ooh! Very exciting post re prepositional endings. Mr. Braley is mistaken. To end a sentence with a preposition is quite venal.

Compare this monstrosity:

Exhibit A - A preposition is a word you mustn't end a sentence with.

... with this paragon of stylistic loveliness:

Exhibit B - A preposition is a word with which you mustn't end a sentence.

by: luvvinit

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 19:03:35 +0000

perhaps its more abt styles. optimistic engineers c it as hlf-empty but optimist sales see it as half-full. myers/briggs-like?

by: Bob Smiley

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 19:49:55 +0000

Yeppers.

by: whall

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 14:38:27 +0000

Are you the Bob Smiley I worked with? In Pleasanton, CA?

by: pw

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 05:47:40 +0000

You could get in a philosophical/semantic merry-go-round thinking about a half glass of water. Is it a half a glass filled to the rim with water or is it a whole glass filled half way with water?

by: R P

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:41:00 +0000

I agree about the bearclaws.

by: R P

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:35:55 +0000

I believe that being classified as an Optimist or the qualifications of, are too narrow. Not sure if this is exactly what you were communcating, but I would classify myself as an Optimist/Realist. I ‘live’ in and react to the real environment around me (realist) yet I can pull a positive out of most every situation (optimist).

by: Joe Park

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 01:05:33 +0000

With this about the postal service you concur very closely with the same points I’ve made for several years, even back ten or 15 years ago when I could count on getting a letter to my Dad at a rural deliver mail box in little more than 24 hours for what was then something like 30 cents or less. I also had a cousin who lived in Venezuela. The Americans there save mail to that someone coming to the states could mail it after arrival in Florida. And we were advised never to send anything of value.

by: luvvinit

Sun, 30 Nov 2008 17:01:17 +0000

say what u like, but bearclaws r best!!!

by: luvvinit

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:56:21 +0000

but the watch/clock is merely an advncmt of the sundial. surely war, money, oth thngs on ur lst r more evil. must xpln.

by: Jeff

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:20:28 +0000

… down with Big Ben!

by: Bob Smiley

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:57:53 +0000

Wouldn’t you know it! Today I checked my mailbox and my promised NetFlix movie didn’t come. So, I guess that means I need to update my statistics…

by: luvvinit

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:22:03 +0000

maybe this is y we dont see many angels in the u.s.?

by: Jeff

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 02:06:46 +0000

Dude… the Karma wins hands down!

by: Bob Smiley

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:52:30 +0000

Luvvinit: this link (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mitzvot&) defines a mitzvot as 1. “any of the collection of 613 commandments or precepts in the Bible and additional ones of rabbinic origin that relate chiefly to the religious and moral conduct of Jews.” and 2. “any good or praiseworthy deed.” Thanks for asking. I had been thinking of them as “blessings”, but I see now it’s more “behavior” related.

by: Bob Smiley

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:42:42 +0000

ZorroMD: I find that to be very encouraging. Thank you for that. But I have a hard time “always” seeking the true path. Often I settle for what is convenient, or what others prefer.

by: Bob Smiley

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:32:40 +0000

I’d rather be a hammer than a nail. I’d rather be a sparrow than a snail. -Simon & Garfunkel.

by: luvvinit

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 06:29:22 +0000

what’s a mitzvot? I thot they were the unleavened crackers we use for communion, but now I remember those are matzohs.

by: ZorroMD

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:54:13 +0000

Perhaps it is as simple as: “because this concerns you, and because you always try to walk a good and true path, it is all as it should be and as I hoped for”… Sometimes you are the snail…..sometimes you are the snailbait… :-)

by: Bob Smiley

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 21:59:02 +0000

ZorroMD (FoxDoctor? SwordOfMaryland?): I like your questions. Do you have answers? I really have no idea what Buddha would have answered; do you? If so please do tell. I would hope that Catholics, Buddhists, Jews, and Muslims could answer this question (but I don’t feign to have such wide readership). Regarding Jesus of Nazareth… I don’t know exactly what he’d say, but I don’t think it would be as benign as “being pure of heart and soul and always doing mitzvot would have cleared you from any unintended consequences from your snail encounter”. I think there’d be an “o ye of little faith” or “do you not yet know” or something to keep us from resting on our laurels and keep pressing on. Remember Jesus is the one the rebuked the Pharisees for tithing on mint and cumin but ignoring the weightier matters of the law… but his rebuke was “you should have performed the latter while not rejecting the former.” The tithing of mint and cumin was a good thing! And my spreading of snail bait would disqualify any “unintended” consequences I think. Though if men are worth more than birds, certainly snails are worth even less. So snailslaughter isn’t as grievious as manslaughter, but would Jesus say that means it is not something for us to worry about? Regardless, my original question was not whether I had committed snailslaughter and would therefore have grieved God… it was more along the lines of, since snailslaughter is so prevalent even when not intended, what does this say about the world we live in and He who created it?

by: ZorroMD

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:03:23 +0000

But there is so much more to explore here. We have the King James’ answer, which is comforting of course. How would Buddha have answered? Or YahWeh? Wouldn’t Jesus of Nazereth have said merely that being pure of heart and soul and always doing mitzvot would have cleared you from any unintended consequences from your snail encounter? Can God love you without liking you? How would Catholics answer? If you repent all your dispicable acts which would make you unlikable, doesn’t the Catholic God have to then love you? Just like Helen Reddy says, God always love you.

by: Bob Smiley

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:12:32 +0000

The conversation and interaction undoubtedly play a part in my increased activity level when I reach home. However I couldn’t find any websites documenting the amount of caffiene in such activities. So, following may basic human instinct to ignore what I don’t understand, I didn’t mention it. :-)

by: Bob Smiley

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 00:17:55 +0000

Hi Joe. It sounds like Mike has arrived where I hope to be. Thanks for sharing the story.

by: Iris Park

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:23:40 +0000

As a drinker of coffee, tea and sodas, I found the information listed here very interesting. I tend to prefer the lower-in-caffine choices, and am pleased to see how they stack up against others. One observation of note regarding the elevated caffine level (I believe the wording was “overdosed on caffine”) upon returning from a Thursday morning of “coffee and converation” at a Bible study group. Perhaps it’s not the caffine that creates the “attitude, behavior and conversation volume level”. Perhaps, instead, it’s the “high” one gets from having good conversation with likable amd like-minded individuals discussing subjects of interest to all involved, and then the rush to share the excitemnt with others. Who needs caffine when you can get “high on life”. I prefer the latter.

by: Joe Park

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:46:40 +0000

As to Ike, we’ve kept a close eye on the eye and eye wall since Mike decided to ride it out in Clear Lake just a short distance from Kema - both of which have starred in the Ike reports. He fared well though his sail boat was sunk. His home suffered little damage but the landscaping throughout the very upscale neighborhood was a mess, he said. He had difficulty describing the experience but was glad to have gone through it. “It’s something few people ever get to experience,” he said. He and I have always enjoyed gathering experiences. He sat huddled in a hall bathroom under the stairwell at a small desk with a battery powered light and radio with his motorcycle helmet. But the most formidable part of the experience, which included going through both the south and north eye-walls, was the sound of the wind, the rain and especially the sounds the house was making. Now that it is over, but still no power, the neighbors are having a block party each evening. “We work all day helping each other, then everyone brings out their steaks and shrimp, which will probably spoil because of the power outage, and we have a block party,” he explained. “How about drinks,” I asked, knowing his ice was about melted. “A large truck came through the neighborhood handing out bags of ice. We’re having a cool one,” he explained.

by: Joe Park

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:34:53 +0000

I don’t know why you consider the blog ugly. Actually I thought it quite attractive, not pretentious, busy or an intrusion on the message. Joe

by: Joe Park

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:30:31 +0000

Your mom suggested we should send this in to Readers’ Digest Memorable Quotes (or something like that) and get $25 for it. Very Good. It’s the only one I’ve read yet but will go back and peruse some more. Joe

by: Horse Feathers

Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:42:53 +0000

I know what you mean… I have the same problem. Good solution though.