Vacation.

Starting today I am on vacation. This is my first time off since my Dad passed away last September. I am not planning on doing much. One day I want to go to Chattanooga to Lookout Mountain and stop at the Chicamauga Battlefield on the way home. That is weather permitting. We have been having rain for the past week. We really can't complain though considering the drought. The only other thing is my Mom will be coming down and we will be going to the Aquarium in Atlanta.

Over at Winthrop J. Quiggy's blog, Quiggy's World, he did one of those 5 thing memes yesterday. Here are mine.

5 Things I Was doing 10 Years Ago.

1.I was the DIY (Do It Yourself)/Automotive manager for K-Mart.
2. I had a part-time job at Arby's. (I have held two jobs off and on for the last 17 years.)
3. I was still married. (My wife would pass away a little over a year later.)
4. I put up inspirational messages on a signboard for the church I was attending.
5. I was helping my wife get ready for her GED test.

5 Things on my To-Do List Today:

1. Take my son to lunch.
2. Sort more of those baseball cards that I bought at the flea market.
3. Get rid of those science experiments in the refrigerator.
4. Read a few of the comic books that I have recently bought.
5. Outline a few future blog posts.

5 Snacks I Love:

1. M&M's. (Peanut preferably)
2. puff corn
3. popcorn
4. Hershey's kisses
5. Wild Cherry Lifesavers

5 Places Where I Have Lived:

1. Mason City, Illinois
2. Springfield, Illinois
3. Hanover Park, Illinois
4. Auburn, Illinois
5. Calhoun, Georgia.

5 Jobs I Have Had:

1. Grocery store stocker
2. Laundry/Housekeeping Supervisor
3. Assistant Manager at K-Mart
4. Shoe department Manager
5. floor mat trimmer

5 Things You Didn't Know About Me

I'll cheat here. I already did the 25 things.

I don't like tagging people. Anyone else want to do these go for it. I did leave one out. 5 things I would do if I were a millionaire. I couldn't come up with 5.
Volly and Travis both knew that division is the inverse of multiplication.

Today's question is Grade 3/Science.

Which planet is called the "red planet?"

• A) Venus
• B) Mars
• C) Jupiter

I knew this one. 62-14.

Amazing.

We met our new store manager Saturday night. He told us he considers third shift the backbone of the store. He also told us anything done for employees, such as free meals, will start with third shift. Normally we get the leftovers. Most managers don't realize exactly how much we do. It is nice to have someone who recognizes what we contribute to the store.
Winthrop J. Quiggy and Travis were both right. Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. Pictured here is Eli's card from the Topps American Heritage set.

Today's question is Grade 3/Math.

What is the inverse operation of multiplication?

I knew that one. 61-14.

Blogger Saves The Day.

Yesterday I was almost done with my post. I sat back in my chair, closed my eyes and everything went dark, literally. I lost power for about 5 seconds. I thought I had lost my post. I am a one-fingered typist so it takes me awhile to do these. I had decided instead of retyping the post I would simply call it ARGGHH!! and explain what happened. When my computer booted up and I went to blogger I checked and the autosave feature had kept all but the last sentence that I had typed. That feature is my new hero. At least until the next thing comes along. Planning this post reminded me of a joke.

Jesus and Satan have a discussion as to who is the better programmer. This goes on for a few hours until they come to an agreement to hold a contest, with God as the judge.

They sit themselves at their computers and begin. They type furiously, lines of code streaming up the screen, for several hours straight. Seconds before the end of the competition, a bolt of lightning strikes, taking out the electricity. Moments later, the power is restored, and God announces that the contest is over.

He asks Satan to show what he has come up with. Satan is visibly upset, and cries, "I have nothing. I lost it all when the power went out."

"Very well, then," says God, "let us see if Jesus fared any better."

Jesus enters a command, and the screen comes to life in vivid display, the voices of an angelic choir pour forth from the speakers. Satan is astonished.

He stutters, "B-b-but how? I lost everything, yet Jesus' program is intact. How did he do it?"

God smiled all-knowingly, "Jesus saves."

I noticed I have a new follower with a great name, Winthrop J. Quiggy. I checked his blog out, Quiggy's World, and it looks like a lot of fun. Welcome Quiggy.




Mike and Travis were right. A flute is not a brass instrument.

Today's question is Grade 4/U.S. History.

On March 14, 1794, who recieved a patent for the cotton gin?

I knew this one. 60-14.

Inventory Is Over.

The beast has left and things are getting back to normal until next year. We will see in increase in freight over the next few days. Wal-Mart uses an automatic replenishment system, which means when so many, let's say Great Value Sweet Peas, sell another case is automatically ordered. There are a few flaws with this system. Of course the scanners are not wrong, but mistakes can be made before the merchandise enters the store. A good example of that would be the time we were supposed to receive 500 Banquet Salisbury Steak Dinners, which was a featured item. Featured items are those you find in the doors at the end of the frozen food cases. The warehouse sent us 500 Banquet Meat Loaf Dinners instead. Now the value of that is exactly the same, But were totally out of Salisbury Steak Dinners before we found the mistake. You can scan the item and find out how many you have on hand. Of course since the system said we had 500 dinners, no more were sent until we corrected those numbers. Another way the numbers go awry is when the cashiers take the easy way out in scanning them. I'll keep the example of the Banquet Dinners, since there is a variety of dinners, but the packaging is the same. Cashiers are supposed to ring each item separately, but sometimes they will hit the repeat key. Again, the dollar amount will be correct, but now our inventory is off. We will be receiving a case we don't need and the system will show that we more of the other dinners than we actually have. By doing the inventory all of our numbers are now 100% correct. There is a minimum count for every item in the store. Now we will have exactly what we are supposed to. For a few days anyway.
Travis proves again he is much smarter than I am. He knew that the Prime Meridian intersects with the Equator.

Today's question is Grade 3/Music.

Which of these is NOT a member of the brass family of instruments?

• A) tuba
• B) flute
• C) trombone

I knew this one. 59-14.

Creative Funding.

I know that schools today are in a cash crunch. Two of my friends, Jeff and Rich, could tell you first hand about that. A teacher in Idaho came up with a creative way to get paper to print tests and other things on. He got a Pizza shop to pay for the paper. The bottom of the paper is an ad for the place. Is this outrageous and should be banned? I am sure there will be those voicing their opinions that there is no place for this in schools. I don't see anything wrong with it. A lot of schools collect money from Coke or Pepsi for allowing their vending machines into the schools. They also pay for a lot of scoreboards. Kids are inundated with ads all day long. As long as they don't do like Jeff Spicoli and order one during class there shouldn't be a problem.Travis was right. The Taj Mahal is an example of Islamic architecture, not Gothic.

Today's question is Grade 3/World Geography.

The Equator intersects what other imaginary line at zero degrees latitude, zero degrees longitude?
I missed this one. 58-14.

Flea Market Find 2.

Writers block has struck again so Here are a couple more of the cards I got from the flea market. The first is another Neal Adams card, this time of Eric Montross. Montross was the 9th overall pick in the 1994 draft. His rookie season was fairly good, but after that not so well. He retired due to a foot injury after the 2002 season. These are the only Adams cards I have sound so far. I did find two more of the Charlie Ward cards which I posted here. If anyone would like to have one email me with your address and I will mail it to you.




The second is from the 1989 Bowman set. My friend Ben is blogging about this set. It is a father and sons cards featuring Cal Ripken,Sr and his sons Cal Jr and Billy. There were 3 other father/son cards featuring Ken Griffey, Sandy Alomar, and Mel Stottlemyre. You can see Mel's card here. I did not get too many 89 Bowman cards, which was actually a good thing. Those cards are slightly larger than regular cards and the way they were packed most of them were damaged. Fortunately the Ripken card wasn't.No guesses on yesterday's question. Only female kangaroos have pouches.

Today's question is Grade 4/Cultural Studies.

True or false? The Taj Mahal is an example of Gothic architecture.

I knew this one. 58-13.

The Retail Beast.

There is a beast that stalks retail stores. At least once a year it invades the stores to make sure all is well. Preparations for the visit are always made, for the beast never comes in unannounced. Everything must be perfect. Nothing can be out of place.

The hourly employees really don't fear the beast. They may be annoyed by his coming because extra work is required, but the beast leaves them alone. Managers on the other hand tremble as the day approaches. They know if the beast is displeased there is a possibility that they will disappear, never to be heard from again. The beast never arrives alone. He has his minions, who scour the store front and back, observing everything, leaving no stone unturned. They observe all and record all, so that they may give their master a full report.

Even the beast has a master. He analyzes all his minions tell him and then he reports. If the beasts master is pleased, all is well for another year. Displeasure, and the beast claims his victims. The name of the beast........is INVENTORY.
Travis was right. Chorus is another name for a refrain.

Today's question is Grade 1/Animal Science.

True or False? All adult kangaroos have pouches.

I knew this one. 57-13.

More Rumors.

I am sure you are all avoiding Wal-Mart because of the impending gang initiation, right. After all, the warning came by email and you know it has to be true. Who would send out something like that unless it was real? The saddest thing of all is some people really believed that. I have heard these things so many times I simply ignore them. I also keep up with Snopes.com, which debunks these rumors. The Wal-Mart story is here.

Why do people believe this nonsense? Some of it is fear. We read about the random violence that strikes and the fear is there that I am next. Yet if you look at it, most of the time the violence is not random. The perpetrator is often known by the victim. I know you can quote times where that is not the case. I am not saying it doesn't happen. If you worry about this too much, you will never leave your home. Taking simple precautions lessens your risk of danger. If you are at Wal-Mart or any other 24 hour retailer and have worries about going to your car, ask for an escort. An employee will accompany you. Be aware of your surroundings. If you see something suspicious, call 911. It is better to have a false alarm than have something happen to you.

Another type of rumor that goes out is something a business is supposedly doing. Things like McDonalds puts earthworms in their hamburgers or KFC no longer uses chicken in their name because the birds they use are genetically modified and cannot be called chickens. I heard about the KFC rumor from she who departed in the middle of the night. Her ex-husband worked for KFC for awhile and he swore he went to one of farms and saw those chickens. I never could convince her otherwise. He had told her a lot of lies that she knew were lies, yet she believed that. Another rumor I heard was about Proctor and Gamble donating a percentage of their profits to a Satanic church. I was going to a church in Illinois when that one went around. The preacher told everyone to boycott all of P&G's products because of that. I voiced doubt about it and knew I would have to prove it to them. I called P&G's 800 number and asked them about it. The first thing they wanted to know was who told me that. One of the church members had claimed to watch the Phil Donahue show where this supposedly happened. Since I didn't want to get her in trouble I didn't name anyone. They sent me a booklet that disputed the whole thing. There were letters from Phil Donahue stating that no one from P&G had ever appeared on the show. There was also a letter of support from Billy Graham. I think the pastor of the church was a little disappointed I disproved it. I think he really wanted to believe that. This man was beginning to turn that church into basically a cult. I'll talk more about that later.

If you hear a story that sounds a little suspicious, check it out before you pass it along.
I agree with what Travis said yesterday. We didn't learn about insect bodies in second grade. The answer is the thorax.

Today's question is Grade 5/Music.

What is another name for the refrain of a song?

I knew that one. 56-13.

Flea Market Find.

I was going to blog yesterday but I didn't get home until 1:00 PM and my bed was lonely so I kept it company until I had to go to work. I went to Dalton to pick up my comic books. I had a little time to kill so I stopped at a flea market there. The first table I stopped at had several boxes of baseball cards. I asked him how much he wanted and he told me $1. Each box had over 500 cards in them so I told him I would take what was there. He told me he had more. They were a mixture of baseball, basketball, football, NASCAR, and hockey. There were also 2 notebooks filled with cards, several small books and some small sets. He told he wanted $20. I paid him. I acquired over 20,000 cards for that. I should complete a lot of sets that I have started out of this. It will be some time before I have them all sorted. One bonus card I found is the one you see pictured here. This is from the 1994 Classic Basketball set. The card is of Charlie Ward, who won the Heisman Trophy while playing for Florida State University. He also was a basketball star, did not play college baseball but was still drafted by both the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Yankees. He chose basketball over football and had successful NBA career, retiring in 2005. What I like the most about this card is the artist is one of my favorite comic book artists, Neal Adams. There are five cards in this set. Hopefully I will have a few more of the cards in all of these. If I find them I will post them here.
The Crusades objective was The Holy Land.
This weekends question is Grade 2/Science.

What is the name of the middle part of an insects body?

I need to go back to second grade. 55-13.

Vote Of Confidence.

If you are ever given a vote of confidence by your boss, the first thing you should do is update your resume. Most of the time the boss is using the "vote" as a way of defusing an intense situation so that your firing won't cause as much controversy. The amazing thing is it seems to work. Usually you find it more on the sports pages concerning managers or coaches, but just this week Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner got that vote from President Obama. Considering the controversy over his taxes before he became secretary it really isn't shocking. With the revelation that he knew about all the AIG bonuses his tenure got even shakier.

The time has come for major reform in the business world. Failure should rewarded with termination, not huge bonuses. We have seen this too much in the past few years. A corporation hires someone to run it and he promptly runs it into the ground. I was working for K-Mart when they filed bankruptcy in 2002. Charles Conaway was given $15 million for running the company into the ground. I know lawsuits were filed against him but I haven't been able to find out if any recovery was made. I found a few articles from 2005 where one lawsuit was dropped and then the SEC stepped in and filed their own.

Paying for failure is ridiculous. Paying for success is not. Wal-Mart just paid out $2 billion to their employees. I got over $200 from them. The amount paid varied from store to store and was based on your job status. Full time employees got more than part time ones. A lot of people want to criticize Wal-Mart as a bad employer. In my opinion they are as fair as anyone else. How many other employers give bonuses? This is not a one shot deal either. We can earn a bonus every quarter as long as the criteria is met.

I owe an apology to Jeff at Card Junkie. He is another person who has been here. I sent him some cards the other day. (In my best Don Adams voice) Sorry about that, Jeff.
Travis was right. 5 states have either North, South, East, or West in their names, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Today's question is Grade 4/World History.

The Crusades were a series of conflicts over which part of the World?

I knew this one. 55-12.

That Is A Good Question.

The other day on the Captain Comics Board my friend Rich posed a very good question. If your blog is titled In Purple I'm Stunning 2.0, why is the background color green?

There are several ways I could answer that. I could use a song and dance routine and hopefully distract everyone and slide on by. The problem with that when it comes to singing, I assume you have heard of a person who can't carry a tune in a bucket. I can't even carry the bucket. When it comes to dancing you could compare me with Fred Astaire. Considering he has been dead for 22 years, it is a good comparison. So song and dance is out.

Another idea is to do what politicians do when confronted with a problem like that. First I could accuse Rich of being color blind. Then when he proves he is not I blame my staff. When it turns out I am my staff, then I blame it on a right-wing conspiracy. When the right-wingers complain I blame it on a left-wing conspiracy. I could just keep passing the buck that way.

Since those two ideas aren't working I'll just blame Blogger.com. After all, nothing is anyone's fault these days. Blogger has to be at fault because they provide the forum for us.

In the end there is only one thing to do. After all confession is good for the soul. The answer to that question is I really didn't think about it. When I set up this blog I went with the prepared format that Blogger offered. Since Rich brought it up I have made a few changes, which is why the words are now in purple. I am trying to figure out how to get the background purple. In a couple of weeks I am taking a mini-vacation and when I do I will work on the format a little. I have been meaning to make a blog roll but as you can see that hasn't happened yet. When I take the time off I will get that done.

Since I am talking about the title of my blog, here is a link explaining why it is called In Purple I'm Stunning 2.0. I know several new people have been visiting here and I am hoping to get a few more in the next few days. Of course I may end up scaring them off when they see how much I ramble, but I'll have to take the risk. I knew my friends from the Captain Comics board come here. We have a thread titled What Are You Blogging About Today? I put a link to all my posts there. But a few others, Volly at This Is My Secret Hiding Place, Dana at Amid Life's Crises, and Ben at 1988 Score have been here. They are the ones that I know about. Thank you all for reading. Anyone is always welcome here. Kick your shoes off and stay awhile.

I say more may be visiting in the next few days because Ben gave me a plug on his blog. He and I just completed a baseball card trade and he mentioned anyone trying to put a 2009 Topps set together to contact me. I have some extras and the best thing to do with them is to help someone finish their set and get some cards I need.

One clarification on yesterday's post. I mentioned the Fundalini Pages but haven't been real clear on what they are. It is three pages of assorted gags. 13 people were credited on the last one. The titles of the gags were: Eerie Similarities Between Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama, The Fast Five:Main Duties Of Obama's New Chief Technology Officer, The Yungbluth and the Restless, a cartoon, Melvin & Jenkins' Guide To Public Transportation,(Melvin & Jenkins are two polar opposite young men) Stories Reported by TMZ That Were Later Retracted, How George W. Bush Will Be Perceived By Various Americans, The Solution To Last Month's Mini-Mystery, The Sublime 7: Hillary Clinton's Priorities As Secretary Of State, and a comic strip called Bitterman. Usually there is something that I find amusing, but not this group. The articles change every month. A few, like Melvin & Jenkins are continuing gags, but don't appear every issue.
Mike and Travis both knew that the maple leaf is on the Canadian Flag.
Today's question is Grade 2/U.S. Geography.

How many U.S. States have the word North, South, East or West in their names?

I knew this one. 54-12.

Mad 499

One issue to go until number 500 and then Mad goes quarterly. I wish I could say this was a great lead-in for number 500, but I'm not going to lie. Here is what I am talking about.

The Fundalini Pages by various writers and artists.
This was the worst one I have seen. It was a total waste of 3 pages. LOSE.

What The Heck Is The Difference?
I always like seeing this. I enjoy puzzles and they do make these challenging. The cover they used was from Mad 213. WIN.

Botchmen. Writer Desmond Devlin. Artist Tom Richmond.
I have read the comic book and watched the movie. This parody captures all the right elements and is hilarious. In my review of Mad 498 I said I really like Tom Richmond's art. I forgot to mention I also read his blog. You can check it out here. WIN.

Sergio Aragones Presents A Mad Look At Trade Schools. Writer and artist Sergio Aragones.(You were expecting Picasso?)
As I have stated before Sergio rarely disappoints. My favorite gag is a look at nursing school. Three students are talking why they are there. The first wants to work with newborns. The second in an operating room. The third wants to meet a doctor for marriage. WIN.

Digital TV FAQs. Writer Jeff Kruse.
Out of 10 questions I thought 2 of them were funny. The best I can say about this is this is funnier than the Fundalini Pages. LOSE.

The Decided Disadvantages Of An Online Education. Writer and artist John Caldwell.
Out of 8 cartoons 6 of them worked. My favorite is basically a recycled gag about the dangers of online dating. Predictable but still funny. WIN.

The Darker Side Of The Lighter Side. The Lighter Side writer and artist Dave Berg. The Darker Side writer unknown. (I wouldn't claim it either.)
I have previously stated this is a bad idea. The good is you get some classic Dave Berg panels. If that is all there was it would be a winner, but since they don't want to do that it loses. LOSE.

Untitled. Writer Dick DeBartolo.
This is a letter written to the American People from the financial institutions concerning the bail out money they just received. This is brilliant and very funny. It probably is closer to the truth then those involved and Congress would ever admit to. WIN.

Mad's Unheroic Watchmen Outtakes. Writer unknown. Pictures from The Watchmen.
I have read several of these through the years and this one ranks in the top 5. It is hard to pick a favorite. An example is Dr Manhattan when he reappeared in the cafeteria saying "Whatever you do, don't eat the Salisbury steak!!! Win.

The Story Of Deathbed Donkey...And The Rage Of Sorrow. Writer Brian McConnachie. Artist Rick Geary.
I have no clue what the purpose of this story was other than to fill two pages. I would rather have seen two blank pages. They would have made more sense. LOSE.

Unabridged Sports Cliches. Writer Jacob Lambert. Artist Paul Coker.
This gives you the cliches, then what is really meant by it. They had 11 cliches. I didn't smile once. LOSE.

The Strip Club. Various artists and writers.
There are seven comic strips printed here. One I found mildly amusing, the rest were bad. LOSE.

Spy Vs Spy. Writer and Artist Peter Kuper.
There are two different little tales here. Neither was funny. LOSE.

President Obama--The Promise vs. The Reality. Writer Desmond Devlin. Artist Leonardo Rodriguez and Kevin Pope.
Another seven gags that gagged me. LOSE.

Mad Fold-In by Al Jaffee.
At least the issue ended on a high note. WIN.

Mad had been on a roll. This was definitely a step back. I liked seven articles, but that was overshadowed by the eight I didn't. Final score 47.
My friend Mike was right. A shamrock is also known as clover. Also quoting Bugs Bunny shows just how truly classy Mike is. You can't beat Bugs. Incidentally, I have two friends named Mike. This one lives in England. That is one thing I like about the internet. You get to meet interesting people from all over the world.
Today's question is Grade 2/Cultural Studies.

The leaf of what tree is on the Canadian national flag?

I knew this one. 53-12.

Random Thoughts.

I have several things that I am going to talk about today. I am going to borrow something from Mad Magazine. Each article is from some department so each of mine will be headed by a department.

Department Of Public Service.
Remember, if you drink too much green milk today don't get behind the wheel. Never drink and drive.

Department Of Bill Engvall.
Bill Engvall had the "here's your sign" routine. Mine involves a co-worker in frozen foods. The other night the meat and produce truck arrived and I was putting a pallet of produce in the cooler. She asked me "Is the truck here?" "Nope, I'm just taking this pallet for a walk. Here's your sign."

Department Of Updates.
Little Houdini has been captured in Florida. I do not condone what he has done, but you have to admit he has style. Remember he stole a Wal-Mart truck loaded with merchandise and Crystal Gayle's tour bus. You would think he would steal something less conspicuous this time. Not our Houdini. He stole another semi then used it to pick up a front end loader. He is currently being held in isolation because he is an escape risk.

Department Of Irony.
Wal-Mart Great Value California style vegetable mix contains vegetables from China, Guatemala, and Canada. Nothing from California or even the United States.Dagwan saw through my ruse to lure people to the wrong answer. Actually that is what happens when you are tired and don't check your blog after posting. Dagwan and Travis were both right, King Tut lived in 1400 B.C.
Today's question is Grade 1/Social Studies.

What three- or four-leafed plant associated with St. Patrick's Day and Ireland is also known as the shamrock?

I knew this one. 52-12.

Change Of Plans.

I was going in a different direction today, but my son called and he is having some personal problems so I am scrapping what I was going to do. I need to go to bed since I work tonight. This is one of my favorite Far Side cartoons. I hope you liked it.
Travis was right. Enamel is what covers teeth.
Today's question is Grade 2/World History.
Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamen lived approximately when?

• A) 1400 A.D.
• B) 1400 B.C.
• C) 500 A.D.

I knew this one. 51-12. Good Night.

Beware The Ides Of March.

Today is the Ides of March. Julius Caesar was told to beware of them. Unfortunately he got the point of that message too late. However I believe it is good advice that we should heed today. The Ides of March is very dangerous. Want proof. In 1970 the rock group The Ides of March had a hit song called Vehicle. The song reached number 2 on the Billboard charts. A close examination at the lyrics shows just how dangerous they are.

Well I'm the friendly stranger
In the black sedan
Oh won't you hop inside my car?
Wait a minute. Didn't our parents warn us about getting cars with strangers? Didn't we pass that warning on to our children? Yet here is is someone who is introducing himself as a stranger trying to lure people into his car. This doesn't look good. It gets worse.

I got pictures, got candy, I am a lovable man

Whoa there. Using pictures and candy to lure someone into his care. That makes this man a pedophile. After all pictures and candy will not work on a 30 year old. (Most of the time anyway.) So what else does he have to say for himself?

By now I'm sure you know
That I love ya (love you)
Need ya (need you)
I want to, got to have you child
Great God in heaven, you know I love you

To lure them into the car he claims that he loves them, needs them, has to have them and then tells them I love you. Now this is someone he doesn't know, has never seen before (that we know of. He could also be a stalker.), to whom he is claiming undying devotion to.

Should we beware the Ides of March? You bet. If you ever see that black sedan in your neighborhood, call 911 immediately. Let's get this pervert off the street.
Sorry Travis. Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca.
The weekend question is Grade 4/Health.

What is the name of the hardest tissue in the human body which covers the teeth?

I knew this one. 50-12.

Changing Directions.

One thing about working at Wal-Mart is most of the time I put my body on automatic so my mind can go where it wants. A lot of nights I write my posts in my head, then do a little editing when I type it out, but it is mostly what I had planned. Today I was going to talk about a website one of my friends from the Captain Comics Board had found. It is called Typealyzer and it subheaded "What personality is behind that blog?" When I put my blog through it it said my personality was a Doer:

The active and playful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities. The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

That closely describes me except that I don't do much physical out-door activities. I was going to talk about how those things matched me and give examples showing how it did. So what happened? I ran my blog through it again shortly before I started writing. I fully expected it to say a Doer again. However this time it said I was a Performer:

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

The only part of that that I agree with is living in the present moment and not planning ahead. I watched my wife die at age 44 so I know exactly how fragile life really is. Because of that I tend to take life as it comes and enjoy everything that I can. Life is too short to let little things get under your skin. What I don't understand is how in one day I get this major change. I will run it through again next week and see what it says.
Jeff and Travis both knew that Charles Lindbergh flew to Paris. That's Paris, France, not Paris, Illinois.

Today's question is Grade 4/World History.
True or False? The prophet Muhammad was born in the city of Mecca.

I thought I knew this and I was right. 49-12.

Go To Church, Get Gas.

No, I am not talking about a church chili supper. A church in South Carolina, the ATC Life Changing Ministries in Irmo, is giving away gas cards to new visitors. They did not say how much the cards are worth. Church attendance is down and churches are trying anything to increase their membership. My friend Mike, who is a Baptist Preacher, has mentioned in his blog that some churches are looking inward for growth. They are encouraging their members to follow God's advice from Genesis 1:28 and "be fruitful and multiply." One pastor in Kansas challenged his congregation to have sex every day in February. Of course that was only for the married couples. Mike has had three entries on this. You can read part 1 here, part 2 here, and part 3 here.

I used to attend church but since my wife died I haven't gone much. Part of it is the way some churches make you feel. My wife and I were members of a church before her death, in fact we lived in the church parsonage. The pastor had bought a home and we rented the parsonage, which was next to the church. Even though we lived there, we never felt totally comfortable. A large part of the church was related and we felt like we didn't belong. 6 weeks before her death my wife had had knee surgery and wasn't able to get out. Only one person visited her. A couple of them did ask about her but it went no farther. For the week after her death I had food brought to me, but it quickly went back to where I was basically ignored. I went to church when I could, I worked every other weekend, but after six months I quit attending. I stayed in the parsonage for the next 3 years and only once did anyone inquire how I was and invited me to go back to church.

I am not saying that all churches are like this. I know there are many wonderful ones, but right now I am staying away. Part of it is my working third shift. I work every weekend. If I went to church there would be a possibility that I would nod off during the sermon. That wouldn't be good for anyone. I had a habit of doing that when my wife and I attended. She had a way of keeping me awake. I swore she had stiletto elbows and she kept sharpening them. At least that's what it felt like. I do wish the churches well. I hope the gas cards work, but part of me feels that with this publicity they will get a lot of visitors, but then they won't see them again. I hope I'm wrong.

This blog amazes me. I keep wanting to go in one direction and the blog has other ideas. I had planned by now to do individual entries on my post The New Eight Men Out. I still will be doing this but when other topics crop up I am going with them. I had decided on Monday today's post would have been about Ivan Rodriguez. Now it will be Saturday at the earliest. I am not complaining. I am enjoying doing this. I will be talking more about this tomorrow.
Travis was right. the number 75 has the 7 in the tens place.
Today's question is Grade 5/World History.

Charles Lindbergh flew the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight from New York to what city?

This was an easy one for me. 48-12.

Who Watches The Watchmen? Me.

I said yesterday I was going to see The Watchmen and I expected to enjoy it. I was right. Was this the best super-hero movie I have seen? No. That is still The Dark Knight. First of all, I am a comic book fan. I don't consider The Watchmen the greatest comic book story that I have ever read. I liked it, it was an intersting take on super-heroes, but not the greatest. This is a faithful adaptation but if you don't know the story you may be in for a surprise. There was a larger group to see the movie that I expected. Most of the time when I go to one in Calhoun on a Tuesday night I am the only one there. Last night there were 4 of us. 2 of them walked out about an hour into it. Watchmen earned its R rating. It is extremely violent and there are sex scenes, but that comes from the source material. It was fun seeing scenes straight from the comic. My favorite scene was when Night Owl and Silk Spectre went to break Rorschach out of prison. The prisoners were in revolt when they arrived. Just watching them go down the corridor taking the prisoners out was fun. The ending was changed but not drastically. Anytime you film something from another source changes have to be made. This was faithful enough to the source that I really enjoyed it. However, I can understand how non-comic book fans may not care for this movie. IMDB rates this movie an 8.2. It is #169 on the list of the top 250 movies. I gave it a 9.
Mike and Travis both knew that if you are bitten by a mosquito, it is a female that bit you.
Today's question is Grade 1/Math.
Which number has a 7 in the tens place?

• A)75
• B) 57
• C) 157

Math I like. Get into algebra, geometry, or any others I am lost. This one I knew. 47-12.

Busy Day.

This is going to be a short post. I have to get to bed soon. I am going to see Watchmen tonight and it starts at 7:00. I do not want to pay $8 to get a nap. I will review the movie tomorrow. I am a fan of the comic book it is based on. I read it when it first came out. I have not read too many reviews so I don't spoil it for myself too much. I am expecting to like it. Tomorrow you will know.
Dagwan, Mike, and Jeff all knew Julius Caesar's last words were Et tu, Brute?
Today's question is Grade 2/Animal Science.

What gender of mosquito bites humans?

I really wasn't sure but I guessed right. 46-12.

The Court Is In Session.

All rise. The Court Of Public Opinion is now in session. The Honorable Judge Dredd presiding.

What is our first case?

Your honor, we present the husband of Annette Yeomans of Vista, California. Mrs Yeomans is accused of embezzling $9.9 million from Quality Woodworks where she was chief financial officer. She took the money over a six year period from 2001-2007. Because of her actions the company has had to layoff a large number of the staff.

All right counselor. I understand that the wife did bad. So why are we trying the husband?

Your honor, he is accused of no crimes. But we want to know how he is not guilty too. The woman had bought 400 pairs of shoes. She had 160 purses that cost $2000 each. She converted a bedroom into a walk-in closet and installed a chandelier. Did he really have no clue as to what was going on? We find that hard to believe. Your honor, we rest our case.

Of course you realize sir that in The Court Of Public Opinion you have no defense. You are found guilty, if not of involvement of being one of the densest human beings around. Court is in recess.
Jeff was right. Plants make food by photosynthesis. Then again, Jeff should know since he really is a fifth grade teacher.

Today's question is Grade 3/World History.

What were the last words of Julius Caesar?

• A) Veni, vidi, vici.
• B) E pluribus unum.
• C) Et tu, Brute?

I knew this one. 45-12.

Little Houdini Escapes Again.

Christopher Daniel Gay is on the run again. Gay has been nicknamed Little Houdini because of his ability to escape from custody. He was arrested in Florida in December for trying to pawn some stolen items. He is wanted in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. He stole a truck from a Wal-Mart in Manchester, Tennessee which was loaded with $300,000 worth of merchandise. He also stole Crystal Gayle's tour bus and drove it to Lakeland, Florida. You have to admit, he has style. A deputy from Coffee County Tennessee drove to Florida to bring him back to Tennessee to stand trial for the Wal-Mart truck theft. The deputy stopped at a Waffle House in Kennesaw, Georgia to get something to eat. Since Gay was handcuffed, had leg shackles and a belly chain, the deputy thought he wasn't going anywhere. When he opened the door, Gay took off. This was Thursday and Gay is still on the loose. If you want to read Gay's criminal resume, click here. Gay has never been violent, just hard to keep a hold of. there has even been a song written about him. I will bet when he is recaptured he won't get another chance to escape. I will mention it when they get him.
I am smarter than everyone. I was the only one who knew that adobe was the type of brick that was used by the Pueblo people. (We will ignore the fact that no one else responded. Give me my moment, OK?)
This weekends question is Grade 5/Science.

What is the name of the process by which plants make food?
I have mentioned before I hate science questions. I hated this one because of that. I knew the answer, I just hate science. 44-12.

The Wal-Mart Social Club.

Last night I was working in the dairy department. I went to the cooler to get some freight to work and two couples were standing by one of the meat cases, talking. 45 minutes later the meat and produce truck showed up. I had 6 pallets of produce that I had to pull up to the produce area. To get there you have to pull the pallets out of the back to get to produce. When I came out of the doors I almost ran over one of the guys. They were still there talking. After I got all six pallets to produce, they still hadn't left. Personally, if I am going to talk to someone in any store it is going to be at most a five minute conversation. There is no way I will stand around for over an hour talking to anyone. I may not have much of a life outside of work, but I have more than that.

To make it worse, both couples had been shopping. One had a gallon of milk in their cart, the other had some meat and frozen foods. For the milk, it will go bad before the expiration date. The meat and frozen could make them sick. Of course if that happens, it is Wal-Mart's fault. When shopping, a lot of people don't take that into consideration. I have seen a few people get their groceries, then go shopping in the general merchandise part of the store. It would do no good to point it out to them. You just smile and go on.
Travis is much smarter than I am. Lightning is static electricity.
Today's question is Grade 3/American History.

What is the name for the type of brick used by the Pueblo people?
I knew this one. 43-12.

Rumors.

I get paid at Wal-Mart every two weeks. I got my check last night. My lady and I meet at the store, pick up our checks, and then we go to the Huddle House to eat. We have been doing this for at least 6 months now, so need less to say they know us there. Last night we learned something very interesting. We are engaged. Why is it the people involved are always the last to know? I don't know who started that rumor, but they definitely got it wrong. We have no plans to get married. We don't even live together. I enjoy spending time with her, but I also enjoy my time alone. Never say never, but I don't really see that changing. I love the way people like to make things up. It gives them something to do and I just get a laugh out of it.
Travis was right. The answer was true.
Today's question is Grade 4/Earth Science

Lightning is what type of electricity?

• A) current
• B) alternating
• C) static

I took a guess here. I guessed wrong. 42-12.

Stand By For News.

I know this is dated, but it took me a few days to figure out the best way to pay tribute to Paul Harvey, who passed away Saturday at the age of 90. I first heard Paul when I was a teenager. Paul had a very unique voice and I always enjoyed listening to him. When he started doing his The Rest Of The Story segments, I enjoyed trying to figure out who he was talking about. I have not listened to him in years, but I rarely listen to the radio anymore. You don't find newsmen like him anymore.
In his honor I am going to comment a few news stories.

Two airlines are trying to figure new ways to get money out of their passengers. Both are budget airlines, but I will bet the major airlines are watching to see if these ideas pan out. The first is Ryanair, which is based in Dublin and flies to Europe and Africa. They are considering making people pay to use the toilet. Ryanair already charges for things that most airlines don't. There is a possibility that this is a publicity stunt. The owner, Michael O'Leary is known to make statements like that just for the free press. Spirit Airlines, based in Florida has proposed a fee for people to buy a ticket. This would not be figured into the ticket cost. This has to have approval from the Department Of Transportation, so it may not go over. It wouldn't surprise me if it is allowed. Today if you want to go to a concert you have to buy a ticket from Ticketmaster, so what is the difference? It won't affect me in either case. I have never flown and I don't plan to.

With the economy in the shape it is in you would think that restaurants would be cutting back on their higher price ideas. One place in Atlanta, Omakase, hasn't got that message yet. They are offering a special sushi menu which costs between $200 and $350 a person, depending on what is served. First of all, I don't believe any meal should cost that much. Secondly, if they are going to charge that much, you would think they would at least cook the fish. I mentioned before sushi is not for me. Anybody else want this?
Al was right. The pterodactyl could fly. Today's question is Grade 4/Music.

True or False? A symphony is a musical composition performed by an orchestra.

I knew this one. 42-11.

The Price Of Honesty.

I have mentioned before that I work at Taco Bell. I work two days a week, when they get their deliveries. I put everything away, rotate the food, and make sure that everything that we were charged for was actually delivered. Last Monday I noticed a case that I had never seen before, a 3 ounce plastic cup. Every month they offer something new so I figured that was it. When I checked the invoice however that case wasn't on it. We had everything that was supposed to be there so the driver had left one case too many. I asked the manager about it and he said those were Pizza Hut cups. Taco Bell is part of Yum Brands, which also includes Pizza Hut, KFC, Long John Silvers, and A&W. The warehouse supplies all of those and it is not unusual for the other restaurants to be on the same truck. I really don't understand how they schedule. There is a Pizza Hut less than half a mile from us, but the Pizza Hut that this case was intended for is in Knoxville, Tennessee. Since we weren't charged for it we could have simply thrown the case away and been done with it. I don't like wasting like that and neither did the manager, so he called the warehouse and told them about it. Their response was we had no complaints about a shortage on that truck, so basically they didn't care. When asked if they would pick the case up they said they would, but we would be charged a 15% restocking fee. That's right, their driver made the mistake and we would have to pay for it. Instead, the manager is going to talk to the local Pizza Hut and work out something with them. We tried to do the right thing and ran into a real life Catch-22. Sometimes it costs to be honest.
Volly, Al, and Travis were all right, the center of an atom is the nucleus.

Today's question is Grade 1/Animal Science. True or False? The pterodactyl was an ancient reptile that could fly.

I knew that one. 41-11.