Grass Houses

Once upon a time, in a far away land (Africa) there was a king who lived in a grass house.  It was a marvelous grass house, two stories high, and the king was very pleased with it.  He spent his days sitting on the throne, which was on the ground floor, directly below the single large room on the upper floor.

The king was very ambitious.  He wanted to rule over the entire region and proceeded to wage war on the neighboring nations.  His army was well trained and conquered nation after nation.  The commanding general would return home after each success, bringing with him the throne from the captured nation.  The king directed his servants to stow the captured thrones in the second floor room of his grass home. 

Finally, after several years, there was only one nation left to conquer, the most formidable nation of them all.  His army fought hard and long, losing several battles, but eventually winning the war.  The king was delighted, of course.  He ordered his servants to haul the last throne upstairs.  Then, he filled his goblet with a fine wine and resumed his seat, savoring his victories.

But then, tragedy struck.  That last throne was very heavy and when the servants set it down, the floor began to creak and shake.  A split second later, the floor collapsed completely.  The thrones came tumbling down, directly on the king, killing him instantly.

The moral is (you probably knew this was coming): people who live in grass houses should not stow thrones.

My Favorite Quotes

 Never engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed man.  Winston Churchill  

It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.  Mark Twain  

Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.  John Lennon  

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.  Thomas Jefferson 

It's like déjà vu all over again.  Yogi Berra

Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right.  Henry Ford

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason.  Mark Twain

You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. Wayne Gretzky

Never miss a good chance to shut up.  Will Rogers

Ya gotta wanna!  George Carlin, et al

Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society.  Mark Twain

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.  Noel Coward.

Did your parents have any children that lived?  Full Metal Jacket  I prefer my version: Did your parents have any normal children?

You can't fix stupid.  Ron White

There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither works.  Will Rogers

U S Military in Other Countries

 Do you have any idea how many countries have a U S military presence?  You will be amazed.  

Before you make a wild ass guess, here's some perspective.  The list includes embassy and consulate security troops, typically a small group of marines.  It does not include countries like Afghanistan and Iraq where there is active combat, nor does it include navy personnel at sea.  Also not included are roughly 40,000 military personnel on classified missions in undisclosed locations.

This October, 2017 article in the New York Times sets the number at 172+. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/opinion/americas-forever-wars.html

The article questions the legality of our presence in various countries, the necessity of massive military funding authorized by congress, and the real value of the numerous, far-flung postings around the world.  Further, it comments on the lack of an overall strategy in combatting terrorism.  In my view, the article is spot on.

Did all the countries in the world get together and unanimously declare that the U S would be the world's police force?  That we had the right to declare war - aka police actions, peace-keeping missions, etc - anywhere, any time?  If so, I missed that bit of news.

In 2018, U S troops saw combat in 7 countries.  We've been in Afghanistan for 20 years, and in Iraq since 2003.

Enough already!  It's time to rethink our overseas military commitment and the billions of $ of military spending - with little or no discernible benefit to any US citizen.  The national debt continues to increase, year after year, while health care, infrastructure and education go wanting.  Deplorable.

 

World Population

 Planet earth now has a population of 7.8 billion.  Scientists predict that it will reach 9 billion in 2050, and they say 9-10 billion is the maximum population earth can support.  

The above graph indicates the steep growth increase is tapering off.  Indeed, the graph below shows that the annual growth rate is declining and is projected to continue to do so.  However, scientists' projections already account for these trends.

There's no way around it: sex, and the urge to procreate, are powerful motivators.  We need to deal with that reality and determine ways to damp down the impact.  

Several years ago, I wrote a 'white paper', wherein I suggested ways to reduce population growth.  Here they are:

1.  Stop encouraging and subsidizing large families via tax discounts for dependents.

2.  Establish tax penalties to discourage parents from having more than two children.

3.  Cap welfare benefits at two dependents. 

4.  Establish free spay and neuter clinics (for humans, not pets) worldwide.

5.  Offer free birth control pills and devices at those same clinics.

None of these suggestions will be implemented for several decades, if ever.  We tend to be a shortsighted species.  It seems most legislators are especially shortsighted, concerned more about being reelected than dealing with the 500 pound gorilla lurking in the corner.  One can only hope they deal with the beast before it goes on a rampage.  

Games, Then and Now

 We're talking 'old fashioned' table games here, not video or app games - although I play those also.  Growing up near Frostbite Falls, MN, there were many, long cold winter nights, and short, cold winter days.  Playing games with siblings made those days and nights more tolerable.  Later in life, in milder climes, games became more of a social thing.  There have been numerous games over the years, can't remember them all now, but here are the ones I do remember, and when I started playing them.  I still play the ones in bold print, mostly with Trish.

Pre-Teen: Old Maid, Pump the Well Dry, Concentration, Snap, Pick Up Sticks, Tiddlywinks, Jacks

Teens: Monopoly, Whist, 66, Pinochle, Battleship, Casino, Cheat, Poker, Checkers, Chinese Checkers, Dominoes, Rummy, Gin Rummy, Pit

60s and 70s: Clue, Risk, Yahtzee, Perquackey, Twister, Cribbage, Backgammon, Milles Bornes, Uno, Blackjack

80s and 90s: Trivial Pursuit, Pictionary, Life, Taboo, Boggle, Charades, Spades, Hearts, Wizard, Go Fish, Balderdash

20s: Farkle, Golf, Sequence, Phase 10, 2-Handed Whist, Pegs and Jokers 

The most popular card game in the world is poker, and it's my favorite as well.  I've been hosting poker sessions since my late teens, first in my Forest Service tent in Idaho.  Later, with friends in Seattle, Corvallis and Portland (OR), Alexandria (Egypt), and now in Lake Havasu City.

My games are low stakes: 25 cent limit with 3 raises.  They're what I call 'Friendly'; I distribute 'crib sheets' to the players, with the ranks of various hands, types of games, etc.  Also, if a player doesn't recognize his best hand after laying his cards down, other players help him.  It's a boys night out thing with lots of banter and laughs.  Love it! 

Sadly, I felt it necessary to put poker on hold for a while now, due to the blankety blank virus.  Sure hope there's an effective vaccine available before long.

Average Daily Water Usage

Our new water softener has an optional feature: daily average water usage for the last 7 days.  It gets updated every day at midnight.  Several days ago, I activated the feature and it now reads 56 gallons/day.  That's 28 gallons per day for each of us.

Then, I wondered, how does our usage compare to other households?  Online research indicates that the average person in the US uses 80-100 gallons a day, most of which is flushing toilets.  Wow!  We're each using only about 30% of the average?  Doesn't seem possible.  

Or does it?  The new dual-flush toilets we put in last spring certainly save lots of water.  Perhaps our newish washing machine and dishwasher are water-efficient also.  And, I don't need much water to wash my hair.  Yeah, it's possible.

Note: water used for irrigation, washing cars and other outside uses doesn't go through the softener.

In case you're wondering: yes, we do shower regularly.

Cool Male Actors

Cool male actors of yesteryear.  I miss these guys!

Steve McQueen

Paul Newman

Lee Marvin

James Coburn

Charles Bronson

James Garner

Yul Brynner

Richard Widmark

Humphrey Bogart

Who would you add to the list?