Brick Layer, Skydiver, Stairs, Octopii, Cats, Horses - Things That Move

I liked today's joke in my 365 Bad Jokes and Puns calendar:
Alexis, Bianca, and Caroline were on a camping trip when they got terribly lost. After wandering in the woods for several days, running low on food, and becoming desperate, they miraculously stumbled upon a magic lamp. When they rubbed it, a genie came out and offered to grant them three wishes. Ecstatic at their good fortune, Alexis said, “I wish to be back home!” and POOF, she was gone. Then Bianca said, “I wish to be back home with Alexis!” and POOF, she was gone, too.

Finally, it was Caroline's turn: “Gee, I sure am lonely now,” she said. “I wish Alexis and Bianca were back here with me!”

I saw this headline in Yahoo.

Sure, that headline made me have to go look at the accompanying video. And it is pretty cool. It is accurate with 5mm or something like that. However, one thing I did not see was the application of the mortar. It sprayed something on the edges, but no mortar. Is that because this demonstration was indoors? I had to watch a different video from the company where they said their robot can use either quick-setting mortar or the industry standard construction adhesive common for block constructions. Oh, it can also use multiple brick types. Now, we both learned something.

See the dude in the photo below? He is going to skydive into a net by jumping from a plane... with NO PARACHUTE. Crazy, right? And it will be broadcast live on Fox on Saturday, 7/30/2016. Will you watch? I might have to. You can read about their prep, and the specifics of the net he will be aiming for, in the article.

I have not found an adequate replacement for bitstrips, the app I used to create Clarity of Vision comics. I have now gone the longest without creating a comic since I started the strip in 2009. It also means that I have not worried about documenting any ideas for the day when I restart it. Is it over? I don't know, but I kind of hope not.

We are on an electricity plan that rewards us for not using electricity during the hottest part of the day. For us, that means the rates are a little higher from 3pm-6pm in order to get rates a little lower the rest of each day. That is not so bad in the winter when we can bundle up if needed. It is REALLY BAD during the summer when we let the house reach over 86F in the afternoon. We do turn on some fans, just not the A/C. And it takes until 9pm or so to cool back down after that. Whew. Do you have anything like that at your place? How do you keep cool?

I found a new opportunity to make your photos look animated. It is called Plotagraph, and you can see some examples on their website. The software costs $300, so it is not cheap, but it is really cool. Below is a photo that they automate to look like the stairs are moving like an escalator. As you can see, when I copied the image, the animation is lost. I also saw some fine print on the site that purchasing the software includes a one-year subscription. So, it requires access to the company servers and software to show movement. Still, it does look cool. Check it out. And I learned about the software when I looked at this photo of fire that moves in the background.

Something that would look cool animated is this inanimate coat hangar that looks like a drunk octopus. OK, maybe not.

This photo is not of our cat, although I think ours might be silly enough to try this.

This person only wanted to buy the manchego cheese for their dinner tonight. Now all this talk of an impending arrival made them lose their appetite.

This photo made me smile... a lot.

I am down to one minute left before my self-imposed timeline of creating a blog post. It has been quite a week, people. Let's hope this settle into a normal routine next week. Until then, we all have a weekend to enjoy, so let's get through today. See you soon.

Down? Sure, But Don't Make Me Angry. You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry

“What’s the lactation schedule for sheep?” Would you know how to answer that question? How about “Why is blue cheese pierced with needles?” Do you know? Do you care? I do not, and I do not. However, these are two of the possible questions on the 150-question examination to become a Certified Cheese Professionals. This certification has been offered since 2012, but you have already missed this year's exam. You can learn a little more about it here.

My job is one where I sit at a desk all day. How about you? I imagine you have heard that this is very unhealthy for us. Experts say it contributes to risk of metabolic syndrome, heart attack and stroke risk and overall death risk, among others. Those who sit a great deal also have lower life expectancies, larger bottoms and slower metabolisms. What can we do about it? This article has some suggestions, some of which I could do (walking laps around my floor), and some of which won't happen (such as a standing or treadmill desk).

I saw this quote yesterday and thought it was clever. I was also surprised that I had not heard it before.
If you are not fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm.
Vince Lombardi, coach

I read an article a week or two ago about 'positive framing,' truly seeking and finding the positive outcome of a negative experience. How do you handle the negative or bad things that happen in your life. The article talks about a Chinese story where a man loses his only plowing horse, but faces that loss saying, "Bad luck or good luck, who knows?” It goes on saying that his son then captured a young, strong wild horse. But that horse breaks his son's leg. While it was broken, the Chinese military comes to enlist able bodied young men to serve in an upcoming battle. The son is spared because of his broken leg. Anyway, I agree we should always look for lessons or positives in each situation. It is a short read. Go check it out.

Remember the images I have posted about reading the small print? I liked this one for pet shampoo.

Who knew that The Hulk was real? Here is a photo of him, and since he is green, he must be really mad, right? This guy nailed it!

I hope these letters from camp are not 'torcher' for you.

I will not mention 'the humanity' as I present this cleverly named business.

This week has seemed extra busy or stressful or something. Maybe it is because I know my current boss is out the door next Wednesday? I don't know. I do know that I have updated my resume. I have not applied anywhere else yet, though. Yes, moving will mean lower pay and going back to two weeks vacation. However, I want a job that I enjoy and look forward to going in each day. Is that too much to ask?

Wow, sorry to be such a downer at the end of today's blog post. Hopefully, I will be back to normal by tomorrow, right? Maybe I should go back and read the Positive Framing article that I mentioned above? Please, each of you make it a Thrilling Thursday to counterbalance my mood. See you soon.

Pizzas and Playing Games and Phasers on Stun

I remembered to load my photo of GRAND #1 eating her pizza in NYC. You remember. The story I shared yesterday?

We are coming up on the 50th anniversary of the original Star Trek. Can you believe it? Fifty years of 'giving her all she's got.' I was reminded of this in an article I read about the uniforms in all the Star Trek shows and movies and their timelessness. I was reminded that gold represented command, blue for sciences, and red for engineering and support services (including, of course, all those doomed security guards). You can learn more if you read the article.

We took some games with us to Ouray to play, including both indoor and outdoor games. Here is a photo of a couple of bags we carried. we included games for both kids and grown-ups.

Among the games we played indoors were checkers:

And No Exit:

And Donopoly, a customized version of Monopoly with family photos and family-related locations.

In addition to aforementioned marshmallow guns, Dad had made  his own cornhole set that proved popular throughout the week.

Other than the Star Trek story above, I didn't find more fun content to share. Stinks, right? So, back to my saved files for options.

I likes this 'face' on some type of inanimate control device.

How about a clever sign from a Subway restaurant somewhere?

Check out what this dude is reading as he consumes his meal...alone.

Yesterday, a guy at work asked me what happened to my Clarity of Vision comics. I realized that I had been keeping y'all updated on my loss of the tool, but not the distribution list I use at work. I sent them an explanation, so now, we are all on the same page.

Where does the time go? My time allotted to creating a post over, so I will reluctantly sign off. Reluctant in the sense of spending time with you, not because I have so much to share. You know what I mean. Anyway, make it a Wonderful Wednesday and bless those around you.

Rum and Coffee and Pizza and Falling Cows

Remember the family reunion story I told about the kids shooting their 'marshmallow guns' at the adults? Well, here they are taking their best shot. They were certainly not throwing away their shot.

What about the adults seeing these projectiles flying toward them? Well, first off, many of them stayed up on the balcony beside the den of our cabin in Ouray, CO.

Apparently, they decided that standing up made them too easy of a target, so they brought out chairs and sat behind the railing. I think it helped somewhat.

Have you been wondering what would happen if the Earth lost its gravity for five seconds? Would any of us survive? I'll give you a hint before you read the article. No. You need to read about it to see why, though. It is not what I would have expected.

Dad gum it. I forgot to load my photo of Bella eating NYC pizza. So, do I go ahead and tell you the story of pizza with minimal-to-no cheese on it, or wait until I remember to include my accompanying photo? You know what? Give me a few minutes and let's see how much content I find to share today.

Aaaaand, I found nothing from Yahoo nor from Consumerist. Next, I will see what I have saved in my blog ideas file. I first came across another entry in the 'Read the small print' file about a children's swimmer. Do NOT read this one before breakfast. No one can say they were not warned.

Let's go with a clever political sign involving Captain Jack Sparrow wanting to Make America Great Again.

The caption says it all.

Somebody needs their morning coffee. I am not much of a coffee drinker. MBH (My Better Half) enjoys it black. SS (Salesman Son) prefers espresso. AAD (Almost Accountant Daughter) likes the froo-froo (frou frou? fru fru?) sweetened coffee drinks.

Talk about having a bad helmet day. This guy nailed it, right?

Amazingly, I found a second 'what if' scenario that I want to share. How many fireflies would it take to match the brightness of the Sun? Now, we can all find out.

Did I distract you sufficiently for you to forget about the NYC pizza conundrum? I hope so, because I have decided to try and wait on my story until the photo is available. Then again, if I wait, you might be expecting too much from it. You're right. Let's just tell it now and maybe still share the photo some day. OK, first, I am fairly certain it was Steve's Pizza based on looking at the map and the proximity to the 9/11 Memorial.

And when we walked in, we had to choose which slice(s) we wanted. BTW, we sat up on the second floor which you can see in the lower left of the photo below. We sat right there above the letter 'Z'.

Where we sat is not the story, though. I was (and still am) moving away from veganism, and still have not added back in much cheese. So, I asked the staff which slice of pizza had the least cheese. As you can tell, they already have the pies made and they warm them for us. So, I could only pick from what I could see. Their response to my question about the pie with the least cheese? Have you guessed yet? It was the cheese pizza. You heard correctly. The cheese pie had the least amount of cheese. It was good, but I do not remember if I ate all the cheese or pulled some of it off.

I got so caught up in today's post that I did not watch the clock. I see that I have reached my normally allotted time of 90 minutes, so I will sign off now. Hey, I have not found a comic-building site or app yet. This is bumming me out. I just dug around on the interweb and found that bitstrips was purchased by Snapchat earlier this year for $100M. Still, why would they shut it down? Why wouldn't they maybe market it as a way to let your avatar self share your feelings on Snapchat or something like that? Anyway, I am still searching. Right now, my criteria include the option of creating my own characters and not being stuck with theirs. I suppose I may end up eliminating that requirement.

Now, my time is even more up. I need to get to work, and you need to stand and stretch your legs. Tonight is Chorale practice, so I may or may not load up vacation photos tonight. I am just helping you to temper your enthusiasm. As always, it can be a Tremendous Tuesday if you let it.

Drones and Moans and False Advertising

Why are snooze alarms alway for 9 minutes? You can learn more in this article, but it basically ties back to the mechanics of earlier analog clocks.

As you know, I am still learning about flying my drone. I have not had time since vacation to play with it. Maybe next weekend. However, I did find an article about a teenager that has founded his own drone company. His design allows speeds up to 85mph. It is also modular, so you could add upgrades and focus on the things you really want from your drone, such as a better camera or faster speed, or whatever. For me, that would simply be a faster way to crash.

Sageproject. Have you ever heard of it? It is a food-related site that let s you look up foods or brands and learn more about their nutritional value. You can selects brands or specific foods by brands and receive a full breakdown of not only its nutritional value and macronutrient breakdown, but you also get a breakdown of just how much exercise it would take to burn it off... by the kind of exercise of your choice! Check it out. Here is what I learned about my morning banana.

I was robbed, and I want all of you to know it. I saw the teaser photo below and though that was so cool how they created twin waterfalls using aqueducts behind their house. Which celebrity built that, I wondered? So, I searched through the entire picture gallery, and.... It isn't shown or discussed. What? Robbed, I tell you.

Remind me to tell you about my NYC pizza experience soon. I would do it today, but I know I have at least one photo that can accompany the story on my home computer. For now,consider what type of pizza slice would have the least cheese.

I have an update on the prayer requests I raised last week. My daughter-in-love's mother is resting well at her daughter's house. It turns out she did have a heart attack, and a couple of stints were put in. I think she is doing well, but I will try to confirm that for you later today. And D-I-L's grandfather is also resting comfortably at her brother's house. He normally stays in Glendale, but D-I-L's aunt is going on vacation, so Grandpa is staying with one of his grandsons. I am also resting comfortably, but I need to wake up and start working soon.

We helped a little by having a couple of the GRANDS stay with us Friday night. The middle GRAND had a cheer practice and could not spend the night. We did McDonald's and swimming and IHOP for brunch. We did not have time to fly the drone this visit. Plus, it was stinking hot.

No, MBH and I are not fighting. Why do you ask?

Here's a cute camp letter.

Nailed It! Wouldn't you be proud to have this Buzz Lightyear cake at YOUR party?

Did I share this photo already of my two drones? I think my grandson may have commented on one of them growing up. This photo was taken on the front porch of our cabin in Ouray.

I was playing with photos last night, but then ended up forgetting to dd any to today's blog post. I was busy uploading them to share with the family. Sorry.

I am not finding much content I want to share today. Do you think Verizon might want to buy my blog for $4.8B? I would consider it for that kind of dough. I would even go as low as $1B.

It's Monday. It's a workday. I am employed to do work. I need to get started. Let's all make it a great week. Thanks for reading.

Ben Franklin, Bysitters, BBQ, and Birthday Cake (And a Serious Prayer Request)

PRAYER ALERT! Our daughter-in-love's mother had a heart attack last night. Surgery is scheduled for Saturday. I don't know any other details right now. Plus, I know that her maternal grandfather is also dealing with a life-threatening illness. Keep her and the whole family in your prayers. Thanks.

I may or may not have had a cinnamon roll for breakfast this morning. It may or may not have come from a local grocery store. If I did, and I am not saying that I did, it would have been the usual 3"-4" around shape. However, my web search for content came across a Yahoo story suggesting ways that you can have that delicious, gooey, creamy, sweet flavor a cinnamon roll in new, fun shapes such as pretzel, or pull-apart, or as a bake with bacon on it. Check this out and get inspired.

I also came across this funny photo of a creative way to update a statue.

I downloaded a photo manipulation app on my phone earlier this week and played with a shot I took of our Ouray cabin. I shared the original photo of the cabin earlier this week, but I will display it again for your reference.

Now this app, Prisma, transforms the photo using famous painter as the inspiration. I seem to remember this one is based on Mondrian.

I just looked back through the app, but I cannot remember which filters I applied. So, I will share another cool look that I liked, but I cannot tell you which artist it was based on.

I liked the wavy lines throughout the last Prisma'd photo (that can be a verb, right?). This next one has kind of a watercolor feel to it.

The simple lines but bright colors made this next one resonate for me.

So, which do you like the most? I like the first two, but I've got to go with #2, wavy line version.

Do you like Pulled BBQ Pork? I do. Do you like root beer? I do. What if you could have them together. No, not as meat and drink, but using root beer as an ingredient. People, your prayers have been answered, assuming that you have been praying for a recipe for pulled pork that includes pork, root beer, and BBQ sauce.

Did I mention that both Architect Brother and his wife celebrated birthdays during our trip? Of course, I know that I didn't. That was just a clever way to share the news with you and show the cake that we all shared. The gouge in the lower center was from it getting scrunched during transport and not because any of us, and especially not me, started nibbling on it early. Happy belated birthday to both.

This next photo hides an ugly, ugly truth. When you look at the photo, you see a nice uncle helping his nieces and nephews play with little PVC toys. My nephew crafted these pieces before he left home and arrived with enough parts to build 9 toys. What 'toys', you may ask?

This innocent exercise led to this next photo. A generation armed with marshmallow guns. Guns firing off mini-marshmallows launched using human breath. Mini-marshmallows that could have put someone's eye out. It was like A Christmas Story except with marshmallows instead of BBs.

And here is evidence that these toys were used to inflict mayhem and slobber on innocent bystanders (and sometimes, bysitters). We will see this story unfold on another day.

Folks, my eyes are reeling from a 'find the animal' puzzle I found. You are asked to find a badger in the drawing of zebras. See what you think.

I will leave you to ponder that over the weekend. I will share the answer next week.Oh, and don't forget the prayers.