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Best holiday wishes to you and yours, Jon.

Good one, piratehunter, and well in line with one of my personal favorites: "We have met the enemy and he is us." - Walt Kelly, USA cartoonist and originator of the cartoon character Pogo Possum. Even more apropos given the deplorable state of USA politics these days with people at each...

Jon, it looks like this forum has dwindled in participation to non-existent. I know it costs good money to keep it going. If you have limited traffic, you can't be making much in advertising revenues. I can't see the financials for this (and really don't want to know). But I am curious as to...

Tempero-Mandibular Joint syndrome based on the formal name of the jaw hinge on either side of the face, about an inch or two lower than and to the front of your ears. You might refer to that condition as "arthritis of the jawbone" - though in my case it might have been induced by accident...

Yeah, I hate that feeling like something just jacked my jaws apart but I didn't feel it at the time. Similar to when you are out walking and step just a little bit awkwardly from or to a curb. You don't remember twisting the ankle, but it gets sore later. You described the same kind of...

I was never that strong at tournament bridge to be highly ranked. Never got above 1 master point. Back when I was active, you got points based on a printed lookup sheet for number of tables; whether the event was local, regional, national, or international; whether it was an "open" or an...

The ancient Greeks even knew the Earth was round by looking at the shape of the Earth's shadow during partial lunar eclipses. Eratosthenes computed the diameter from simple geometry and got within 10% of being right. But he did it 2300 years ago and he did the computation without using any...

I'm with you on that one, brother. There is an old anecdote about how a veteran lawyer dropped his notes regarding a case. Someone else picked up those notes and found a place where the lawyer had written "Argument weak - yell like Hell."

You refer to Mt. Ranier, which is to the southeast of Seattle. It is interesting for driving because you can follow a road partway around it and DAMN it's a scary road. If you are driving west while going around the north side of the mountain, your passenger can look down and see nothing but a...

Speaking of "last mosquito" - it would appear that I am the last person to post here in weeks. Jon, I haven't forgotten you, but looks like the forum is in a profound dry spell. I'll keep on checking, my friend. Hope things have picked up with you since your recent loss. I know it takes a while.

There are many insects for which that Buddhist philosophy would clash with natural instincts. For us in New Orleans, palmetto bugs (a large type of roach with dark brown wings and darker brown carapace) are simply "fair game." Not to mention the satisfying "crunch" sound. I am reminded of the...

A lot of the "ancient astronaut" shows on TV are laughable in the extreme speculative approach. Sometimes the rays emanating from a person's head represent their belief in divine inspiration, so those depictions are symbolic. It is logically legitimate to say "no, it represents something else"...

At least in theory, it was started so that kids getting off from school in rural (agrarian) settings would have a couple of hours to help with the family chores in the fields.

Weather-affective disorder is well known in cities that have hot summers and very cold winters. The northern cities in the USA, such as New York City, Chicago, Seattle, Detroit, and a few others are well known for issues. Seattle used to have the highest suicide rate in the USA because of...

I live maybe three blocks from the Lake Ponchartrain levee and one block from a drainage canal. On the lake side of that levee, it is easy to find small tidal pools where the little buggers can find moisure and shelter very easily. When I was a kid, my parents lived about 1/2 block from the...

Uncle G... you caught me. But then, I have this congenital defect. I can't pass up an opportunity for a joke. If you have ever seen Who Framed Roger Rabbit and the "shave and a haircut" scene, it's like that.

Mosquitoes, like any other animal, seek warmth and food. You, being warm-blooded and a bigger (therefore easier) target, are a mosquito's dream. And contrary to public misconception, they don't got for something sweet. They like it salty. So try to not sweat in those warm clothes. Also, if...

As the "properties of materials" guy in my first "real" job, I was pretty comfortable but spent more time on the programming aspects of the company's measuring and real-time monitoring equipment. When the oil-and-gas industry went bust in about 1982 in New Orleans, my mother was already in a...

More effective. Based on cost, initially more expensive, but as time has passed, the costs are about the same now. But the profile is different as I understand it. More powerful but faster to wear off. And since they are considered stronger, they have a reduced limit on how many shots I can...

Yeah, I always hate drilling. My weird metabolism is such that ordinary Novocain just barely makes my gums feel warm. I need one of the modern synthetics like Neocaine or there are a couple of other "caines" that work for me. Good thing my dentist knows that the run-of-the-mill stuff doesn't...