THE WEISS CHRONICLES

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Did AI do this? 

I was on youtube looking at an image of the ice on Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisconsin. I was also eating popcorn from a large post popped bag I had purchased a day or so earlier. As I was watching the video, youtube suggested I might want to watch a video of what happens when a large pile of post popped popcorn is left in a forest. This video was uploaded to youtube earlier in 2025. The forest image, a cute little chipmonk enjoying the snack, is from the video that youtube recommended to me. Btw, deer, racoons and squirrels also enjoy the popcorn. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For what it's worth, I'll also include a snapshot of the scene at Lake Mendota. This is the second time that youtube made an apparently odd recommendation to me that I really liked. The first was several years ago when youtube thought, correctly, that I would like to see a parody of the Alanis Morrisette "It's Ironic", where two young ladies corrected the use of the phrase. Their video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32LCwZFoKio&t=23s ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

posted by Martin Weiss  # 5:51 PM

Wednesday, December 24, 2025

A Nice Holiday Greeting - Well Sort of 

The letter in the image is from a real estate investment firm. Their version of holiday greetings is to ask me if I want to sell our house to a real estate investor. They use a very nice font and have their phone number, 301 945 7329, twice in the letter. They have a nice name too. MarketProHomeBuyers,com .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... On the reverse side they promise a stress free sale, transparent pricing, a closing on my schedule and help moving. Well, it is nice to know you home is wanted.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 2:31 PM

Hardward Store Stops An Assassination - in my Dream 

In my dream, I had already bought everthing I needed. I brought the shopping cart to the loading area. My car was already there (I can't explain that, perhaps I had an automatic driver system). Just as I pressed a button to get my hardware into my car, three guys, armed with knives, attacked the car. The hardware started flying toward the car and disabled all the assassins. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ I don't have a clue as to why they wanted to assassinate me.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 9:59 AM

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

Meira Has RSV 

Meira has been hospitalized with Rotovirus. Almost every child gets a rotovirus infection before age 5, some have symptoms that basically resemble a mild cold, some have it worse. Meira was in this latter group. Tamar was pregnant in 2024 and didn't get the RSV virus because of that. She is fortunate that she has neighbors who are very friendly and take Oz to school and otherwise are helpful. .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Meira seems to be doing OK though and probably will be discharged in a day or two. .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... She was discharged on Dec 19.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 9:47 AM

Monday, December 15, 2025

Montgomery County Prepares to End Plastic Grocery Bags 

The image shows an unhappy planet. Maybe earth likes plastic bags. Anyway, as of 1 Jan 2026, plastic bags will no longer be allowed in Montgomery county, except bags for fresh vegetables and a few other uses. Also, the paper bag fee doubles to 10 cents per bag. Half of the 10 cents is for the merchant, half for the county government. ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... I recall reading about how much the county was pleased with the decrease in litter after the 5 cent per bag policy. But I suppose it didn't get the county enough revenue. Let's see: About 1 million people in the county. Assuming 3 bags per week per person (a guess) that's 150/year per person. So about $7.5 Million for county government.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 6:05 PM

Sunday, December 14, 2025

Snow for Hannukah Day 1 

We had about an inch or two of snow last night. This is the second snow of the season (the other one was also relatively light). However the temperature has been a lot below normal, probabliy 2 stand deviations or maybe more for the first 2 weeks of December. At 4pm today the temperature was 20F and wind chill 2F at Rockville's recording station. The image (click to enlarge) is of my two door away neighbor's giant outside Hannukah monorah. He'll light the first light tonight. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

This is a cartoon in the paper today about Hannukah. I don't really get it. Is "Len" the name of the octopus or the turtle or the dophin or the seal or one of the two crabs? And is the banner a 'present'? Does the Octopus's eight legs have anything to do with the eight days?

posted by Martin Weiss  # 12:38 PM

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

I am able to drink coffee slowly now 

For many years I was unable to drink coffee slowly. Thus some coffee conversations I had were with people who were still sipping while I had finished and, somehow, I felt this was wrong. Anyway, starting a few years ago I have been able to sip. Lately, I nurse a 20 ounce drink for about 90 minutes. It helps that modern coffee mugs hold the heat or the cold. ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... I don't remember where I bought this. It may have been in 2022 at the Air Force Museum near Dayton, OH. This mug is fabulous for both cold and hot. Several times in the summer I remember waking up in the morning and finding that there was still some ice in the mug. I have to admit that even the less insulated cups used by, for example, Starbucks, work pretty well too. I haven't tried a hot liquid time trial test yet.

posted by Martin Weiss  # 12:04 PM

Tuesday, December 09, 2025

Another Dulles Airport Nightmare 

Back in 1992 after the election of Clinton I had a Dulles Airport nightmare where I was trying to go to National Airport but it was closed and I was going to have to drive to Dulles. I woke up and shouted 'No. No.'. Ann asked, "What's wrong?" and I said, "I dreamed that I was going to have to use Dulles Airport". Anyway, last night I had another Dulles Airport nightmare. This time I had been lured into some sort of job interview and they told me I was selected and my job would be to plan, design and build a 5 star hotel with walkway access to Dulles Airport. The map in the image shows how difficult this was going to be ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... In my dream, they showed me the map of where the hotel was going to be and I felt horror as it seemed impossible to fit a hotel in there...

posted by Martin Weiss  # 9:27 PM

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