A Dam Shame

Here is a shot of Sneffel's Creek in Yankee Boy Basin. In years past, we have always built a small dam in the creek at a place about 10 yards upstream from here. This year, we did not do so (at least not here in our usual spot). So, that's where the title came from.

And here is SS, JV, and JW sitting on a huge rock which overlooks the place we build the dam I mentioned above.

And here is JV throwing rocks into the creek just downstream from the rock we just looked at.

Spoiler alert: Fried Chicken Oreos are not real, despite the photos you may have seen on the interweb.

I had some fruit salad to go with my lunch yesterday, but when I tried it, it tasted bad. Maybe I should have paid attention to the expiration date. So, here is a little info about the Use By dates and the Sell By dates.

What made me think of the 1963-1966 cartoon The Mighty Hercules this morning? I don't know, but I remember it every time I see an ad for the new Hercules movie with The Rock. And of course, the catchy theme song is memorable, sung by Johnny Nash (who sang I Can See Clearly Now).

And I also remembered Paul Harvey, which led me to remember his annual retelling of The Man and The Birds. If you have never heard it (or haven't listened in a long time), click through right now. Have a tissue ready.

Spotted on the web this morning.

Wait. I thought giving fingers was bad?

Help me understand this headline from Yahoo! Are they saying it is bad to sit in coach class on airlines, or there is some athletic coach who is a real pain?

Did you watch The Tonight Show last Monday? Jimmy and Kate Hudson played Box of Lies. It's pretty silly and fun. Who won? Go watch it.

We cannot delay any longer. It is time to reveal today's CoV. You can choose that, or what is behind Door #2. No, actually, you have no choice because...there is no Door #2.

I will end with the famous words uttered by Paul Harvey at the end of every broadcast. If you ever heard him, be sure to read it with the upwards inflection he always used.

"Good Day"

Is It Whoopsy Daisy or Oopsy Daisy?

When I do a search, both terms show up as a way to dismiss an insignificant mistake. Which one do you say? Now that I have written and researched both, I do not really know which  I would say first. What about you? Anyway, my (wh)oopsy daisy is that I forgot to upload more photos. Sometimes, I am so scatterbrained. We had a Chorale concert yesterday, so by the time I got home, it was almost dinner and I just forgot to think about building today's post. Sorry.

Since I use a web-based tool for creating Clarity of Vision, I can still do that. Hold, please. TSA Nephew, it is just a joke, OK?

And not many links of interest are showing up this morning on the interweb. These photos from a record-low Lake Mead are sad but fascinating.

We did watch a bit of TV last night (you remember. When I wasn't uploading photos). I read that in 2013, the average person spent 2.8 hours watching TV every day, nearly half of their so-called "leisure time." (Some age groups spent more than four hours.) Did we watch more than that last night? I'm not telling, but maybe. What about you?

Did you read that James Garner died? I always enjoyed his stuff. Have you ever seen Support Your Local Sheriff!? I thought that was funny.

Speaking of vegan (and you should be. You know it), I did see a story about plant-based meat alternatives and the fact that Whole Foods accidentally switched them in some foods for three days and no one noticed. You can watch the story here. (BTW, I do like the Beyond Meat products).

I am not monkeying around when I say we enjoyed Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. It was really good, but it was obviously a filler-type movie between other stories in this cycle. Still, they can do amazing things with SFX nowadays.

How much would you pay for one of those cute little bracelets kids loom from rubber bands? Would you pay one dollar? five dollars? OK, how much for a whole dress made from rubber bands? One hundred dollars? No? Well. someone in the UK paid $291,000 for one. Maybe I should get the GRANDS working on that!?

You know what today is? It is a workday for most of us, so let's start working. I hope your weekend was nice, but we are burning daylight. See you on Terrific Tuesday.

Mea Culpa

I chose today's title because I've heard it means "my fault". If it means something else, then just ignore that and know that I want to open today's blog post saying I messed up, and Preacher Bro and MOM (my old man, of course) called me on it. I uploaded a photo from the Civil War era yesterday and talked about photobombing. I wrote there was a surprise in the lower right when it was actually the dude looking out in the lower left. Couldn't you tell I meant the OTHER left (meaning right)?

There is an interesting idea on the My Plant-Based Family today for BBQ using spaghetti squash. I think I want to try it, although I need to find a good sauce without much (any?) sugar.

Let's go ahead and check out some photos. Oh wait, I didn't upload any last night. I forgot because I was kind of tired after working all afternoon at a local charity for our bi-monthly team event. We were working in a largely un-air-conditioned warehouse sorting trash cans. You read that right. There were several hundred donated plastic trash cans we sorted into trash, usable but dirty, and ready for resale. My fingertips are a bit tender this morning. Still, I know we helped them a lot.

A day or two ago, I thought I'd take a ride. And soon, Miss Fanny Bright was seated by.... Wait, how did I get sidetracked. Oh yeah. A day or two ago, I talked about Weird Al Yankovic's latest album being released. Well, it has been and you can hear a few of the songs and see their videos here. I knew most of these songs. I know I liked Tacky, but I cannot remember which others since I am unable to open the link at work.

Do you remember a Charlton Heston movie from years ago called Soylent Green? Its premise was that the human race was reduced to surviving by eating.... Well, do some research to see what it was if you don't already know. A new product dubbed soylent has been released that claims to meet all nutritional needs. It apparently tastes like unsweetened cake batter. Would you be willing to eat it? Would you even try it? I think I would.

Did you see that Lay's may release cappuccino-flavored chips? Will you try those? I want to see how much of a meal I can put together with flavors of chips. Check back in a day or two. How many can you find?

I am back to finish the post after taking 20 minutes to create today's CoV. I had to do it this morning since I forgot to write on last night. I wrote down the original idea on June 11, and did a version of it at around the same time. This time, we put it into practice. I think this is the most panels I have ever used in a comic.

OK, everybody out there clamoring for a delicious homemade celery soda, raise your hand.

If we hurry, maybe we can get Friday, Saturday and Sunday over with quickly so we can all happily embrace a new workweek. I know I want to. Have a Fabulous Friday.

An RX for Photo FX and Video FX

Who's ready for a photography lesson? If not, skip on down past these photos. If you are, read on, MacDuff.

We'll start with this shot. Notice first that the focus is on the flowers in the foreground and not the waterfall. Also, it was taken at 1/50th of a second, so the water stops in mid-flow.

Now, a similar shot except it is taken at 1/40th of a second. Notice the water is a bit more smooth, but still choppy looking.

We will now move to 1/15th of a second. Focus remains in the foreground, and the waterfall is now much smoother looking.

Finally, a photo at 1/13th. It is a bit smoother, although that may be only slightly more so than the previous shot.

Tomorrow, we will move into even longer shutter times. Well, assuming I remember to upload the photos tonight.

Speaking of photo effects, I just watched a super-cool video about creating the HBO program Game of Thrones. Even if you don't watch the show, you should check this out. It shows how little reality there needs to be to make realistic-looking scenes. And there is an equally cool one for HBO's Boardwalk Empire, too.

And still speaking about photo stuff, check out this Civil War photobomb. Notice anything unusual? No, it's not the dude in the middle doing a Napoleon imitation with his hand. Look in the lower right corner.

It was nice and cool up in the mountains, but we were never frozen. Speaking of Frozen, though, how about Frozen meets Star Wars. Check out the video on YouTube.

I am sure you have read before about how stores and restaurants have tricks to get us to spend out hard-earned bucks. Here is a reminder about some the food industry is using.

I saw on Yahoo today that Rose McGowan is mad that people are saying she resembles Michael Jackson. Weird story, all right, but the weirder part for me is the photo they used to present her personal details. I attached it below. Hilarious, right? She's not even in it!

OK, I've filled your eyeballs and mind with enough for today. Oh, wait. Let's do one more thing before we part. Take a moment to look at a four-panel Clarity of Vision comic, inspired by a news article I saw about a New Jersey town being struck by over 10,000 bolts of lightning in one storm. My first reaction? Who counted all those things?

OK, go on. Live your life. I set you free, hoping you will one day return.

Food... Is It Funny or Not?

Hmm. I read this recipe for Chickpea Tacos from Kevin Nealon (click the Print button near the top to read it without having to click over to 9 pages), and it wasn't funny. What's up with that? Is he a comedian or not?

I also read this article about whether or not dairy makes for healthier bones. What do you think this doctor says? Since it is in my blog today, you can guess the answer actually is closer to a plant-based diet. Maybe she says to also add weight training (start by lifting a 10lb block of tofu in each hand....). Ed. Note: She didn't actually say that. I was trying to be funny.

Lemon Pepper Roasted Chickpeas. Does that sound tasty? It does to me, and I do have a can of them already in my pantry. I will have to try this. Her site has a bunch of other recipes that we like and need to get around to cooking. Again, not funny.

Maybe today's CoV will be funny.

Do you like Shark Tank? We do. Here is a follow-up on a deal from a couple of years ago. And there are some links on the left for other post-Shark tank stories.

I had Chorale practice last night, and then picked up a few groceries on the way home. Why am I telling you this ephemera (and what does that word even mean)? It is to explain why there are no vacation photos in today's blog. I hope to do better tonight.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday.

Photos Shared and Links Included and LeBron Mentioned

How about some photos from our recent vacation? Actually, that is a rhetorical questions since I am going to share a few anyway. I will even include a little photography lesson.

We rented a house just north of town and enjoyed the lovely south-facing deck everyday. Here we are on our first morning in Ouray, CO.

And here is the place on our last morning. OK, so we may have had a few wild nights.

I don't know about you, but I think it looks cool when you take pictures of water where it looks all smooth and silky. That is done by keeping the shutter open a long time. During the day, that requires something over the lens to make it darker so the shot won't get too blown out. Luckily, I have an ND2 (Neutral Density filter which makes it two stops darker). So, these next two photos are both using the ND2, with the first taken at F25 and the second at F36 (which lets in less light). Both were open for 1/2 second. I found it interesting how the nearby slope was lighter in the first, and the line of trees across the back were darker in the second.

Do you ever eat the peels from your fruit? According to some, they contain a lot of healthy stuff. I suppose that could work if I were a juicer (like Teacher Daughter), but I'm not, and I currently just throw that stuff away. Shame on me, huh?


Who doesn't like watching a building implosion or a bridge collapsing? I am not sure how you feel about them, but I like those kinds of videos. Here is a bridge being demolished in Cleveland, and I am thinking no one was on it at the time.

A model proclaimed her dislike for Forever 21 recently, saying she was once deemed fat and mistaken for a high-priced hooker. However, I mention this only to remind you that prostitutes are now called hookers because of a Civil War general named Hooker (unless the name was already in use). Reead the story and decide for yourself.

I did not actually listen to the attached audio clip, but I did read the transcript of a guy trying to cancel his Comcast subscription. The customer service agent was certainly tenacious (but not Tenacious D).

I am currently not eating milk products, including cheese. Even if I were, though, this sounds like too much cheese. A pizza with a double cheese crust? No thanks.

There is a study that file sharing of movies does not hurt their box office. Oh wait, I read about this study on TorrentFreak, which might make the findings a little suspect.

OK, let's CoV and get Tuesday started. Thanks for staying with me.

Yup, I'm Still Here

OK, it might be more accurate to say that I am still around. The definition of 'here' gets a little tricky since, on Saturday and all of last week, 'here' was in the mountains of Southwestern Colorado". We made a trip up with my folks, Salesman Son and family, and Ex-NZ Niece and hubby. You should have been there (paying your own way, of course). It did get a little warm on some days (it got up to 80F one day!), but that is better than the 100's back home. It rained most afternoons, but we were OK with that, too. And once we got above 10,000 ft, it was nice and cool. I took a number of pictures, but I did not upload any for me to share from my work computer, so you will need to wait for those. Several were shared on Facebook already, so go there if you are connected to us.

Speaking of vacay, have you ever been to Yellowstone? That is a cool park, but it is a long way from home, so I've only been there 2-3 times ever. Did you read about that road closing due to thermal activity causing it to melt? Can you believe anyplace gets hotter than PHX in the summer? It must be true. And yesterday, there was an earthquake there. NOOO. That's what made Old Faithful's eruption schedule not be as faithful. I hope no other features were impacted.

For now, it is time to exit vacation mode and get back to work. Don't you hate that transition? Back to life. Back to reality. Oh well, this is what makes vacation possible and pays the bills.

Oops. We DID use spray-on sunscreen on the GRANDS. According to Consumer Reports, we should not be doing that. What about you?

Not only were there no blog posts last week, there were no Clarity of Vision comics created. And now that I am getting back on my regular routine, it is time again for a new CoV.

One of the GRANDS listened to Weird Al no matter what type of driving or off-roading we were doing. So, it is a fun coincidence that his newest album comes out tomorrow. I listened to a preview of the tracks and I think I only recognized a few of the original songs. I know there are parodies of Radioactive, Blurred Lines, Happy and Ruler.

I don't think either of the girls listened to any Beatles tunes. What is up with that? Are SS and Daughter-in-Love not doing their parental duties? For the rest of you, though, check out these facts about A Hard Day's Night.

Let's get political for just a moment. Have you been following the news reports about all these children coming into the country from Central and South America? There are so many, and our laws allow them to stay until they are granted an asylum hearing, which can take years. Meantime, they can stay with family or in a government facility. I know the government is shipping these kids and families to states across the country (including Nebraska). I don't like this, but certainly, I don't want the kids to be sent back into dangerous situations, either. How do you feel about it?

On Syfy network this past weekend, they showed all the old Planet of the Apes movies. I did end up watching some of several of them. Wow, those rubber masks weren't a fraction as realistic as the newer, motion capture digital effects. I also see that the newest movie dominated the box office. Are you planning to see it? I think I want to.

Who is surprised that Mariah Carey photos released to the press are retouched? Anyone? Beuller?

Oh man, I have GOT to get going. Thanks for checking back after my week off.

Pre-Holiday Quiet

Shh. Be vewwy quiet. I'm hunting other workers, because it is really quiet here in the office. True, it is still early, but there are usually more workers making noise than I am hearing today. It is the day before a holiday, so I know a lot of people extended their weekend by taking a vacation day.

I was recently searching the San Diego area for an affordable place to stay for our anniversary trip, and I came across the town of Poway. Have you ever heard of it? If not, then you never watched the reality show Family Plots about a family-owned funeral home there. Amazingly, it was on for four seasons.

Remembering that show brings to mind Six Feet Under. That HBO show ran for six seasons, and is one of the best finales I have ever seen. It revealed the future lives (and deaths) of all the main characters. Don't get me started about finales, though, because then we'd have to mention the end of Newhart and the nod back to his previous TV series. If you want to remember it yourself, you can probably find it on Youtube, or read about it in The Last Newhart section on this page.

For some reason, I was thinking about how I think back nostalgically to the music of The Beatles, CSNY, etc. Do you think our kids' generation will do the same with music of Nirvana? And what will their kids think of?

Does your company have any required training during the year. Ours does, and a new one was just announced yesterday. We have to take it (online) by the end of August. Here's what I say to that.

Have you seen that Monty Python is getting together for one final final show? If not, read this. Anyway, I read about Mick Jagger teasing the guys in a promo video, which you can see here. I liked that he called them "wrinkly old men trying to relive their youth and make a load of money".

Time for installment three (of four, I think) of There's No Mayonnaise in Ireland by Will Stanton.

British women are especially confusing to me. I met one at a party who mentioned that she and her husband had recently bought a neighboring farm with a very old home on it. I knew the place and asked if they were enjoying it.
"Yes," she said, "it suits us very well. We have ghosts, you know."
"No," I said, "I didn't. It's funny I've never heard about them before."
"Well," she said, "they weren't there before."
"You mean you brought them with you?"
"Yes, of course," she said. Her raised eyebrow seemed to mean that she was extra interested in our conversation, so I kept talking.
"We had one in the house when I was a boy," I said.
"You don't say," she replied. "In the house?"
"My parents always said I was imagining things, but I could hear it in the attic. Sometimes it would even come into my room."
"And it didn't bother you?"
"Oh, no," I said. "I've always been quite fond of them."
"How extraordinary!" she said.
"What's that?" It was her husband, who had just come up.
"This gentleman and I have been having a most unusual conversation," she said. "About goats."

As I mentioned previously, tomorrow is a holiday and I will not be posting a blog entry. You are welcome to come by and enjoy earlier posts, but there will not be a new one. Have a great holiday, my friends.

Skyrockets in Flight in T Minus Two

Two days until our national day of independence. Do you have big plans? Are you someone who wants to go to a live fireworks show? Or will you have one on the T Vat home? Or do you even care about that? I have several dozen photos of fireworks shows in the past, but it has been a few years since I braved the heat. I do think we have something planned with the GRANDS, but I can't remember at the moment.

Speaking of rockets, did you see the recent tweets from an astronaut up on the International Space Station? Go see several of them here. Very nice.

This feels like an apropos time to share the next installment on There's No Mayonnaise in Ireland by Will Stanton. Part one was in yesterday's post.

Then there was the time my wife sent me next door to borrow a couple of eggs, and I came back with an Easter chick. She looked at it, and then at me. "This one's a real challenge," she said. "Let's see—you walked in without knocking. . . ."
"Eloise was on the floor," I said, leading her on, "reaching under the bookcase..."
"That's enough," she said. "Naturally, you asked what she was doing, and she said . . ." My wife studied the chick. "Got it! Eloise said she was trying to catch a chick, and you said how much, and she said, 'Fifty cents,' and you said you'd cash it. So Eloise got up, you handed her 50 cents, and she said, 'Well, well, you have just bought yourself…”
"Isn't there anything to drink in this house?" I asked.
Even when I recognize the pitfalls in time, I still have a problem. I'm thinking of the woman who told me she didn't know what to do about her husband's coffin. I didn't know what to do—or say—either. I'd have felt like a fool if I'd asked about the services and then found out that all he had was a bad cold. On the other hand, if she really was a widow, I didn't want to recommend some brand of cough drops. Compromising, I mumbled, "No man is an island."
"Oh?" she said. "What do they put on their sandwiches?"

I imagine every family has one, but ours is the Son of a Preacher Man. I am talking about a tinkerer. A Jack of All Trades. Yes, I am talking about you, ZKW. I saw this and it felt like something you would/could/should build. It has your fingerprints all over it. Ha ha. A joke within a joke.

Speaking of jokes, maybe it's time of a little clarity...of vision, that is. Ha ha. Another joke within a joke. Today's is a new spin on car recalls.

Before I drove in this morning, I had a whole diatribe I was going to share. Now, I can only remember that I wanted to remember that. I wonder what it was about?

I am using the Lumosity app everyday on my smartphone, but I guess it is not working, huh? I had better go do some real work to stretch my between-the-ear muscle.

The Leftovers

No, that is not what I am offering up to you today. You guys get the fresh stuff, whipped up each morning to share the latest and greatest of interesting stories and witty banter. Actually, The Leftovers is a new show in HBO that is about people left behind when part of the population disappears. It didn't do great in its premiere, but that could be because it might be about religious things like the Rapture. Then again, it could because it was only OK. We will watch at least one more episode, but it didn't grab us strongly either.

Hey, read this header line from a Yahoo! article today and tell me what you think.

Does it say that only 10 cars made a list of 10 cars? No? Well, how do you interpret it, then?

And what if our super heroes really reflected the average American (in things like height and weight)? They'd look like this.

Do you say Dr. Soos or Dr. Soiz? What am I talking about? Go here and read the Pen names and Pronunciations section. I apparently say it incorrectly.

Speaking of photos, I forgot ONCE AGAIN to upload my photos. I know y'all are being really patient, but I need to get that done soon.

Since I don't have to upload anything, I can share a cool article about a guy taking photos of WiFi signals. Weird, right? Look at them and see what you think.

I will end today with 1/3 of a Reader's Digest article from 1971 that has been part of my vocabulary ever since. The story is called There's No Mayonnaise in Ireland, by Will Stanton.

IF I HAVE a reputation around town for being slightly eccentric, it's because I suffer from a strange malady. In many conversations, through a kind of slip-of-the-ear, I hear things that have never been said. It usually happens when I'm talking to women, and I think it's because I'm no good at male-female banter and am constantly groping for something witty to say. As a result, I often fail to catch what is said to me. This happens especially at parties, where conversation is likely to be disjointed anyhow.

I was standing next to a woman at one party recently, not paying much attention to what she was saying, when suddenly she came out with the statement that there was no mayonnaise in Ireland. Of course, I knew what she was doing. She had noticed that my attention was wandering, so she made up a silly remark to see if I'd let it pass. But that was a game that two could play. Without batting an eye, I came back with a strange remark of my own.

The lady made some excuse and left. Shortly afterward, I overheard her suggest to my wife that maybe I ought to be taken home. "I'm afraid he's had one too many." she said; "I was quoting a line of poetry—you know, that bit about 'No man is an island.' Well, your husband gave me a blank look and said 'There is no ketchup in Australia.'"

The story may be from 1971, but it is NOT leftovers. I will give you the next excerpt tomorrow. Did you laugh at the above story? Did you even smile? I did. That's gold, people. Gold!