I’m still mining Sundays from 10 years ago. I thought you might be interested to know that the big Web-page makeover that I’ve talked about recently (and have talked about off and on in the past) might really happen this time. If it doesn’t, I just wasted money on a retainer I paid to some fine young people who’re going to help me put it all together technically. Of course, I learned I’m still going to have to provide the content. Sheesh! It isn’t scheduled to roll out until spring, possibly even late spring, and I have no idea what it will look like, because I’ve yet to come up with a concept and the artwork to support it—that “content” bugaboo I mentioned. However, I will keep you posted as events warrant.
Literary Achievement
By Jimmy Johnson
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442 responses to “Literary Achievement”
Dog and I are off for a manicure and a ride. Carry on, you’re all doing very well.
I went to a multi-state trade association business meeting in Jacksonville once, where the Florida association hosted a very nice haute cuisine dinner for us at a private club on top of a very tall downtown building with a wonderful view of the ocean and the river. After the food courses were complete, the servers brought around brandy and cigars. Several of the young women present had cigars with their brandy. I quickly realized two things…that it was the first time I’d ever seen a woman smoke a cigar, and that I found that incredibly erotic.
A local toy store, back when there still was such a thing, used to sell “space pets” – helium-filled Mylar balloons, usually animal shapes. They came with a strip of stickers made of heavy paper (hard to describe), the idea being that you attached them to the balloon, varying the number until you got the balloon to float at the level of your choice. Then you let it go in your house and watched where the air currents took it. You could adjust the stickers as the gas dissipated to keep it floating. Great entertainment for the cats, especially with a ribbon trailing behind 🙂
For those who might have missed them – Symply Fargone posted a couple of snow pictures at the end of the Flippin’ Mess page. Speelchek really didn’t like that last sentence!
And at what age did you discover this, Ghost? I was definitely an early bloomer.
Ruth Anne, I agree, cats LOVE deflating mylars and strings. We would bring them home from shop for our cats who had an amazing time. Apollo would carry his around by the string in his mouth all over the house, while Gemini tried to get it.
So, I relate this story to the PBS station film crew who thinks that story is the cat’s meow and want to film it for our “commercial” for Pledge Week. So, we bring cats down to shop, get the balloons, crew starts filming and both cats leap into dropped ceiling. knocking out the ceiling tiles to not be seen again for several days of searching with flashlights And me paying someone to search.
Do you have ANY idea what is up in a convenience store dropped ceiling attic space?
I suspect Mindy in Indy knows!
We like your content. Don’t change that much! 🙂
OF due 1711-1731 CST. Peace, emb
http://www.nps.gov/features/yell/webcam/oldFaithfulStreaming.html
I agree with Jim in TN, don’t change content much. Except for making the old strips more accessible, please. We would like to be able to go fish in your lake of pre-1995 material since most of us seem to have missed that era.
Jackie, as I understand the problem with the mylar balloons being released outdoors, the aluminized versions will short power lines if they land on them.
Your story of cats in ceiling sounds like what happened to my ex and I when we took Bama to the pet store to look for a cat tree. The store had a large display of them set up in a rectangle, with some being blocked in by the ones on the outside. When Bama got a chance, of course he took off for the ones where we could not get him. So we had to stand there calling Bama, Bama (in a Tennessee pet store) until he finally came back to us.
“helium molecules being so small they easily pass through latex”.
Detail, but the source of the problem: Helium doesn’t exist as molecules but only as single atoms. Or, if you will, He molecules consist of single atoms, because ‘noble gases’ don’t easily combine with anything. He atoms are smaller than H2 molecules, but heavier: ordinary H atom has 1 proton, so H2 molecules have an atomic weight of 2 [electrons don’t weigh diddly]. Ordinary He atom has 2 protons + 2 neutrons, so weighs 4. All gases [at a given temp and pressure] have same # of particles / liter, so a liter of He weighs 2x as much as a liter of H. However, He doesn’t burn, so makes a safer zeppelin. There will be a quiz… Peace, emb
You are correct, of course, emb. I don’t know why I said molecule when I well know that He is an element and not a compound. Mr. Jenkins, my HS chem teacher, is probably spinning in his grave like the two electrons spinning around a Helium nucleus.
Found in dropped ceilings: Other ceiling tiles; moldy insulation; tools, old cardboard displays; a soda shell (plastic thing a case of lose sodas come in) – lined with a garbage bag, full of water, wedged in the support; signs, light bulbs, and for those with public restrooms – weapons, drugs, drug paraphernalia.
Debbie – Ever wonder how many more people would apply to work with you if your job duties were listed as “rapid reflex response cardiovascular cross training sessisons” (prissy on the loose!), “medium resistance weight lifting” (packing), “meditations on life” (aisle walks), “unique problem solving situations with hands-on engineering learning experiences” (augers and bailing wire), and “recognizing, understanding, and handling political jargon and/or simultaneous crisises – a practical application” (dealing with *ahem* crap, literally.) We were musing on the current practice of spin-doctoring job titles while I was at the bank today. I thought of you. ?
I only ever called it a doggy bag if doggy was getting a special treat. Otherwise, box.
So glad to see Dave Schwartz on the “Occasionally Weather Related Channel” again. The way he delivers his forecasts reminds me of one of my old school teachers.
… And sometimes the universe is generous, and I get to have a cute milk man delivering to my store twice a week. 😀
Good work, Lady Mindy. Sounds like a business retreat/spa experience. They’d be beating down the door to get in. (I will have to say the last “business retreat” I went to was held at a casino. We learned a lot, but what we learned there had to stay there.)
Jackie, ref the HI-FLOAT information tables: Good to know the 11-inchers can last so long. And impressive.
I don’t member my exact age when the females-smoking-cigars-turned-me-on incident occurred, but I suspect I was in the age range when I found lots of things to be incredibly erotic. 🙂
Come to think of it, I’m still in that range.
Never grow up, Peter Pan. I do too. And poor JJ is wondering why he doesn’t just give it up and do a Brooke on A and J and go semi-porn? You brought this on yourself, Jimmy, with one of the few truly adult comic strips in America and no porn. Doesn’t stop all us from speculating on what if’s. That of course is the trouble with 9CL if we want to talk about dialogue and art, there is NO speculation, just boring blantant obvious and repetitive plot?
It is the mind that creates erotic thoughts, of course, not what is seen but what might be.
Love you of course, Jackie
GR6, any rights to time travel were consigned away prior to my time of discovery.
Never experienced a cat in the ceiling. Did spend a sleepless night once when a critter got in the attic. Turned out to be a very clever raccoon. He climbed a drain pipe, removed a vent cover (no multi tool used ), and settled in.
The raccoons in Florida, especially those in Everglades area are so smart they open boat lockers, unlock hatches, steal what’s inside, open and drink water stored inside, eat all your food. I watched one swipe a roll of Duck tape from a friend and scamper off before owner could react. You can’t whack a raccoon in a national park or even a Florida state park and they are smarter than us. And thirsty.
sand: Read an interesting article one the InterWebNet recently, the gist of which was that if you carry only a large knife or a combat folder, and you need to open an envelope or package, or trim a thread off your pants cuff, you may become the source of some concern for people who aren’t familiar with knives and visually equate your three-and-a-half inch blade with a machete. The recommendation was to carry a smaller, more innocuous-looking “public” knife for such mundane chores. One suggested choice was the Leatherman Squirt. I suspect this may be the next addition to my already 6.5 ounce keychain.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0032Y2OT6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2PUU1HM05RSQS&coliid=IG0CAU54FKDGK&psc=1
Abe Lincoln had a multi blade, pearl handled pocket knife in his pocket on the night of April 15, 1865. LBJ was famous for his tapped comments with his tailor; both his cajones and pocket knife needed more room.
Meanwhile in Berkley, a young Naval Aviator came up short in the good sense department.
http://boingboing.net/2015/01/29/fighter-jet-that-buzzed-berkel.html
Tapped s/b taped. Siri really hates me.
Well, it was, after all, a Navy pilot.
I rather suspect his next assignment may be Runway FOD Officer.
Once upon a time you admitted your name of Ghost Rider was associated with the name Tom Cruise gave upon doing a flyby of the tower in Top Gun. Have you not done anything that foolish?
Naw.
Oh, and the fact the pilot’s brother spilled the beans on the InterWebNet comfirms my suspison that one doesn’t have to be too smart to get into Berkeley.
I blame my memory of this for misidentifying helium as a molecule.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAIyVxKmyKs
I also blame finding it and watching it for misspelling “suspicion”.
eMb & GR6: Fear not! A molecule is just the smallest possible piece of an element or of (some, not all) compounds extant at given conditions, and is electrically neutral. For helium, xenon, etc., at room conditions, it is merely a single atom; for hydrogen, oxygen, etc., it is a joined pair of atoms; for sulfur it is a ring of 8 atoms (all at room conditions).
For compounds like water (H-O-H) it is 3 atoms total, of two kinds. For benzene, it is a unit of 6 carbon atoms unified with 6 hydrogen atoms into a single molecule having 12 total component atoms.
Some species are non-molecular, such as the case of table salt, NaCl. It is composed of oppositely charged ions: Na+ and Cl- in equal numbers to keep neutrality; no internal boundaries can be discerned. Other network species also have no discernible internal boundaries, so the entire piece would be a single molecule. As that would mean there could be different size molecules for the same substance, by agreement, it is said that they are non-molecular. Examples include quartz and several forms of elemental carbon including diamond and graphite and all ionic compounds.
There will not be a quiz, but watch out for the final exam in a few months….
My own father did the buzz the tower thing with base commander in it during his training in Florida during WWII, compounded by flying under bridges. People were still telling me these anecdotes when I began contacting them 50 years later. Not saying this had anything to do with the assignment he got of flying aerial surveillance with cameras but crop duster skills might have contributed. Those stories and the ones I heard of him “requisitioning” first an Army truck and then all the sports cars left in the civilian population of Palermo, Italy was still being told.
Not even a teeny little indiscretion ?
NO! My favorite drop the glasses and look over them routine! With cleavage.