It's an ill wind that blows no one no good, or making money from Las Vegas

Can the proverb in the title above be applied to the mass shooting in Las Vegas on October 1st 2017?  Those who  manufacture bump fire stocks will probably do pretty well.

Those who employed the dead or disabled from this incident will be able to hire cheaper replacements. Since many people worried about losing their guns to government overreach after an incident like this, there will probably be a rise in sales of semi-automatic weapons.

The hotel where the shooter rented his room will probably be able to rent that room for a higher daily rent for many years to come.  Maybe the hotel could rent paintball guns with the room.

Aging Gracefully: A Short Story Idea Based on the DVD "Morgan"

           If anyone wishes to use the story idea below feel free.  I have gotten to the point where I am losing my grit to do these things.  Just send me a copy of your work so I can see what you have done.  I might feel inspired by your efforts.

Grace was 5 years old but already had the body of a young adult. She was extremely smart but had only the experience from five years on which to draw.  She looked at everything with wonder, and did not display the sophistication of a young adult or at least what passes for such.

She had read lots of books and knew that growing old meant loss of strength and mental capacity. She wondered if she would grow older quicker than a natural being since she was already an adult at five years of age.

She wondered if she would have children one day. She wondered if she could even reproduce with a natural.  She was strong and smart but knew that living things died. She feared death but did not know how to avoid it. She was healthy but may not be that way forever.

Comment: I must think about this story some more before I add to it. What is the difference between sophistication and wisdom?

Can We Speak Blog Entries?

So can these entries now be made with Goggle Voice?  

Would the United States Benefit If We Allowed North Korea to Annex South Korea?

Above is my comment to a thread on NPR about relations between North and South Korea, and the US.

Below is a second comment considering the consequences for Japan of such an annexation.

End Times

I am watching CNN, and wondering if Revelations is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Is the Beast the head of ISIS or our own Donald Trump? Will we see the final war, or just another in a long series?  Will we get tired of an Islam that does not reform, and "nuke" Mecca?  I would pay additional taxes to transport "true believers" to Mecca.  I would pay additional taxes to nuke the irradiated site every 10 years on 9/11.  I would encourage true believers to go to Mecca to visit Mecca, and they could then glow in the dark while returning to their homes.

Ecstatic Nation and Aternate History

I am reading this book, http://www.amazon.com/Ecstatic-Nation-Confidence-Compromise-1848-1877/dp/0061234575, by Amy Wineapple.  I enjoy her writing, and it got me thinking too.

I have read works of alternative history by Harry Turtledove.  He wrote a series of books about how the world might have turned if the South had won the Civil War, and an alternate universe had occurred.  Wineapple's history raises the question: what would have occurred if the Compromise of 1836 had not succeeded?  Or the compromise of 1850?

How would the war(s) have differed if different personalities had led the various units and states?  If the South had a military leader other than Lee?  If the North had a different President other than Lincoln?  

Does Anyone Know Why These Cameras Are Along I-75?

My brother told me that there are  new cameras being installed high on poles.  They seem to be about one mile apart.  He says he has seen them from Bowling Green to Monroe, Michigan.  Here are a few pictures.

Headed north on I-75

Some kind of control box on the bottom of the pole on I-75 off Lagrange

I was taking them with my Nokia E73 (5MP main camera) so the pictures cannot be enlarged as much as I would like.

What Is This Plant?

I have had this plant growing over my fence this summer.  My mom believes it is poisonous.  She told a story about how a little kid ate the berries of this kind of plant 40 years ago in our neighborhood, and died.  I live in south Toledo (near the intersection of Broadway and South) if anyone from outside the area has an idea of what these are.

Is this plant poisonous?

What is this plant?

Bird's Eye View of Libbey High School, Toledo, OH

Here is a bird's eye view of Libbey High School, 1250 Western Ave., Toledo, OH 43609.

View Larger MapDriving Directions

The Value of Toledo's Vacant School Buildings

This is a document showing the value of Toledo's vacant school buildings,

AZ Crowd Assassin Paintball Scenario

A presentation about how to stage a game in which an assassin either succeeds or is killed by good guys with concealed guns on their person

1. You need about 150 people to play this scenario. That is supposedly the number of people that often attended Rep. Giffords rallies. One of these people would be given a paintball gun (in secret) and would play the assassin. Three or four (4) other people would also be given paintball guns in secret (hopefully, they could be kept secret from each other). Now the fun begins.

2. The assassin makes his way to the “politico” standing behind a lectern, or seated at a table signing autographs. Does s/he shoot him/her (10 points) or is he gunned down before he has a chance to end his/her political career? If the assassin is wounded, then the “pc” (politically correct) shooter gets a point for each wound. If the assassin is hit in the head or center mass (a “kill”) then the “pc” shooter gets 10 points. If the “assassin” shoots a member of the crowd he gets a point. If the “pc” shoots a civilian he loses a point for each member of the crowd he kills. Remember, all this mayhem starts after the “concealed” weapons clear holsters to affirm our right to keep and bear arms. The question to answer: Can concealed guns in a crowd protect us from a nut with a pistol? Or would we believers in the 2nd Amendment just add to the mayhem?

A Walk In The Woods

This is the route Bruce and I walked today,

It was supposed to be .98 miles, but I thought it was further. At least I did not have to find a ranger to show us the way back to the parking lot.

Out, out, damn blank line

Don't you realize that's mine

I need it for rhyming lines

Do not intrude upon my places

Leave me alone to go through my paces

And let me fill the traces

Poetry does not need to rhyme

Sometimes it can just be the right word sublime

But it is hard to give up the feeling that is mine

What as each line gets longer as I strain to make a rhyme not vulgar

Pushing the limits of rhyme and reason as I struggle with the torture

Of reason and rhyme that fills the time to make a rhyme with rapport

I am sitting in my hot bedroom,

Looking at my Facebook Wall

Feeling friends and family across the room

And hoping that they don't see me stall.

As I try to compost all

My thoughts to throw upon the tall

Wall of comments by family and friends

That makes me believe that each attends

To make the goodness in this world.

Photos of the Fruit and Branches of the Unknown Tree

Here are some more photos of the unknown tree and its berries

A Closeup of the Leaves of the Unknown Backyard Tree

This is a posting of the leaves of the unknown tree from my backyard

What Species of Tree Is This?

I bought this tree along with 10 others from one of those National Arbor Day mailings about 20-25 years ago.



Of the 10 trees that I bought only one (this one) survived the first season. Now this tree has become something to reckon with. I may be cutting it down if it continues to grow as it has.

Pokeweed Salads

My mom mentioned her Aunt Sally going up the hill to pick poke weed for a salad in southern Kentucky (this must have been in the 1930's since mom is 82). This article in Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pokeweed, points out that the plant is poisonous but edible when properly cooked. I guess that leaves out raw salad.

I guess I'll have to be careful what I decide to eat from Nature's bounty since Nature might have a bounty on me.

Edible Weeds in Toledo, OH

My mother said that she had been pulling a weed that she did not recognize from her garden. I took a few samples up to my apartment and checked them on the Internet. In Wikipedia this article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea , talked about the beneficial uses of the weed. I picked some, washed it off, and cooked it with onions on the stove top that evening. The onions masked any natural flavor from the "pig weed", but it tasted well. The Wikipedia article states (in part) "Purslane contains more Omega-3 fatty acids (alpha-linolenic acid in particular^[4]) than any other leafyvegetable plant. Simopoulos states that Purslane has .01 mg/g of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). This is an extraordinary amount of EPA for land based vegetable sources. EPA is an Omega-3 fatty acid normally found mostly in fish, some algae and flax seeds.^[5] It also contains vitamins (mainly vitamin A, vitamin C, and somevitamin B and carotenoids), as well as dietary minerals, such as magnesium, calcium, potassium and iron. Also present are two types of betalain alkaloid pigments, the reddish betacyanins (visible in the coloration of the stems) and the yellow betaxanthins (noticeable in the flowers and in the slight yellowish cast of the leaves). Both of these pigment types are potent antioxidants and have been found to have antimutagenic properties in laboratory studies.^[6]

100 grams of fresh purslane leaves (about 1 cup) contain 300 to 400 mg of alpha-linolenic acid.^[7] One cup of cooked leaves contains 90 mg of calcium, 561 mg of potassium, and more than 2,000 IUs of vitamin A. One half cup of purslane leaves contains as much as 910 mg of oxalate, a compound implicated in the formation of kidney stones."

Getting To Work and Home Again

I ran this route one way, or biked it both ways, from late September 1974 to early June 1978.

The "button" below will lead to a map of the route I used to take.