Farewell Johnny

Thanks for the laughs.


Johnny Carson 1925-2005

Knees, knees!

Almost a week ago, I wrote about my friend having knee surgery. Well, it went well, and being the subborn person that she is ... she was up with a walker the very next day after surgery! The folks in the Hospital, of course, couldn't believe it. They let her go home on Saturday ... with the condition, there will be someone around to help out if needed. So ... of course, I have been .... ahhh, "recruited" to put in some time to babysit! Only been one day so far ... and it hasn't been too bad. At least I can get up and leave ... must be a bit tougher when you're used to being out and about ... and you're confined to home! But ... she's making good progress, and got some good "tips" from the Physical Therapist yesterday (the same things the rest of us have been telling her, but she's too stubborn to listen to).

Pray For Survival

From an on line article I read this morning ...

"Thousands in Banda Aceh gathered in the ravaged city's mosques to pray to Allah for forgiveness and for their survival.

For many Muslims in this northern Indonesian province the giant walls of water that crashed ashore were punishment.

"God may be reminding us that we have forgotten him, ignored his words, and disobeyed his order," Din Syamsudin, secretary of the Indonesian Ulema council, said in his sermon."

I think Allah punished the wrong folks ... in other parts of the world, the killing continues. They probably didn't get the message.

So, why would God do this? People are asking.

Thinking of a Friend ...

A friend of mine is currently in the hospital, undergoing surgery on both knees (probably as I type). She's been kind of upset and nervous about it the last month or so ... and was getting even more nervous as today got closer. Sounds like some serious surgery ... involving cutting and repositioning some bone, to get things lined up and functional again. I guess, most important ... no more pain. Supposed to be about 6 to 8 weeks of recovery time ... but she says she'll be up and about in her wheelchair and walker in less than a week. Yeah ... we'll see!!

The Phantom of the Opera

Went to see the movie, The Phantom of the Opera, last night. While not a big fan of musicals and opera, the movie wasn't bad at all. I had been wondering, if the actors were actually singers, and after doing a little research on the internet, it turns out they are. The singing and music is great ... and I liked the sort of modern, up tempo version of "Phantom of the Opera". All in all, not bad. In the mood for something different? Go check it out!

What's in a word?

Why do people keep making up words or phrases that actually obscure it's true meaning? Why not just come right out and say what you mean ... instead of showing how clever you are by making up a "new" word to say the same thing? Here's an interesting list of Banished Words for 2005! On the other hand, here's a list of Words of the Year going back to 1990. Some of them are pretty clever and a few have become mainstream.

So, what's the word for making typing errors, such as typing "seom" or "form" instead of "some" and "from"? I tend to do this quite a bit ... and notice others do as well. I've called it "typoglycemia" ... but that doesn't quite fit! Maybe something like "typolexia"? But then ... I suppose it doesn't really matter! Take the following paragraph for example. Despite all the errors, you can still read and understand it!

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? Yaeh and I alyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!

Quote

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead