Monday Meanderings - 5.09.2011

Several gorgeous days this past week - temperature in the low 70's, not a cloud in the sky. Perfect for sitting on the patio...and snoozing. I hope the neighbors did not see me fall out of the chair. "Old man Anderson has been nipping at the Gin again." Unfortunately, that didn't last. It was 98 degrees in Austin yesterday. The good news is that I don't have to worry about the neighbors anymore.

Way back in 1954 Elizabeth Taylor starred in a movie called "Elephant Walk." I don't remember much about the movie, but the crux was the arrogant great white hunter built his compound across the trail the elephants used to get to water. Heavily reinforced barricades forced the elephants to go around until they got so hacked off they walked right through the barricades. And the compound.

I think about that when I watch two neighborhood cats daily walk through our backyard on the way to the neighbors. Don't know why they walk the same path repeatedly, but there's almost a trail down the side of the yard to the fence. Thus far, they climb up and jump over the fence. I'm waiting for the day when they decide to push through it, like the elephants.

The nerve! Rudely awakened in the wee hours of the morning by a telemarketer. Don't people know that 8:20 in the morning is altogether too early to be calling on the telephone? Show some respect, people.

At Learning Ally (RFB&D) last week I was reading a Junior High-level Texas Literature textbook and the director stopped me, saying I had misread a sentence. I doubted it, but was polite about it and we started over. He stopped me again, saying I had added some words. Again. I was sure this time, so I said, "Play it back so I can hear what's wrong." Sure enough, the playback exactly matched what I had read.
     "See? You added the words..." and he read the "extra" words.
     "That's what it says in my book."
     "Really? My book says...." and he read the abridged version of the sentence.
The two, seemingly identical, published on the same date textbooks were different! We took them to the studio director who confirmed that there were differences; that one book was printed a month after the first, and they had edited the book in between and most of the differences that had been uncovered were of no significance whatsoever. No wonder Texas textbooks cost so much to adopt.

So then my director wants to know how is he going to be able to tell when it's a mistake and when there's a textual difference. The studio director said, pointing to me, "Trust him."

And in medical news...

A new medical study says "Having sex, drinking coffee, working out - activities that cause blood pressure to spike - may briefly raise the risk of a burst aneurysm in the brains of certain vulnerable people."  

Now which of these can I cut out to lower my risk?

Lady Longhorn softball team was 14 - 0 in Big 12 play.  So we watched the last 3 games on TV. Want to guess what their record is now? No more LL's on the TV for us. It's for the good of the team.

BTW, I have a treadmill for sale, if anyone is interested.