I was in Seattle with old college friends. We went to the Space Needle and then to the Chihuly Gardens and Glass Museum. The first image is in the bar adjacent to the museum. I had a few beers there but really loved the accordian themed ceiling for it uniqueness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next two images are from the Glass Garden and Gallery. The artist lived near Seattle but his work is featured in many locations. It is really impressive given the not-so-great structural issues with glass.
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Big day for deleting email from one company
I received a message from my email server that I had used over 90% of my free memory. Of course one rational way of acting would be to buy more memory. But I decided to see who is sending me all the messages. Well there were a lot of places that were sending messages. One in particular is an on line shoe company (gravitydefyer). I have purchased their products and found that I liked them (they addressed an orthopedic problem I have, namely flat feet).
But for several yearts the marketing of this product was fierce. Messages every day or every other day at times. ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... today I deleted and then discarded over 2000 emails from this one company.
Monday, April 06, 2026
Another Odd Dream - I gave an odd tip
In my dream, I was in charge of some kind of conference. People were refilling coffee urns for the break between sessions. One of the workers was working extra hard, perhaps having started work hours before the conference started. I told him how much I appreciated it and gave him tip. The tip was a $45 bill.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Somehow, in my dream there wasn't anything illegal about this and the bill was legal tender.
Sunday, April 05, 2026
The blooming ornamental trees invade the industrial zones
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Blossom Time
Click twice on images to get it larger.
First image is taken 27 March (a cloudy day). Pear blossoms in front of the weeping cherry (lower right) and the regular cherry tree (lower left).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Second image is taken about 830am 29 March (a partly cloudy condition). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Third image is also taken 29 March but in mostly sunny conditions around noon.
Tuesday, March 24, 2026
Another AI Query - this time to Duck GPT about a song 50 years ago
One song I have on my cell phone play list is "Convoy" (released in 1975). I like the mixture of music, chorus, narrative and dialogue. I also like the humor that occurs because the lead driver (Rubber Duck) keeps telling a driver of a shipment of live hogs (Pig Pen) to drop back another 10 miles in the convoy because of the smell and Pig Pen drops back so far that when the lead trucks hit the eastern shore, Pig Pen is in Omaha. I asked Duck GPT why Rubber Duck would keep telling Pig Pen to keep backing off since as long as Pig Pen was at the back of the convoy, no one could be offended by the smell whether Pig Pen was 50 feet or 500 miles behind .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Duck GPT said, "Because the lyrics use Pig Pen’s distance as a humorous exaggeration and a device to ramp up the story’s comedy and tension. Key reasons:
Exaggeration: Saying “50 miles back” amplifies the absurdity compared with “50 feet” — bigger gap = bigger laugh.
Escalation: Increasing the lag shows the convoy’s growing disorder and problems caused by Pig Pen’s cargo (stink, delays, broken rules).
Character & narrative: Rubber Duck’s repeated calls to “ease up” emphasize his leadership stress and Pig Pen’s incompetence, not strictly the literal smell transmission.
Rhythm & rhyme: The phrasing that specifies a large distance fits the song’s meter and storytelling cadence better.
So it’s not about realistic smell mechanics — it’s about comic effect, plot escalation, and musical phrasing."
-A pretty good answer I think.
Thursday, March 12, 2026
Market Pricing Oddity - or Maybe Not
This year there was a delay in getting kosher for Passover diet Coke into groceries. Today was the first day I saw some available - it was at the Montrose Crossing Giant. I had been to kosher grocery earlier that day and they didn't have any. What was sort of interesting was the pricing. For the 2 liter bottle (at the Giant), it was $3.89 but if you bought two bottles, it was $3.69 each. After putting 4 bottles in my cart I went by the regular soft drink area. Regular Diet Coke (and Zero Coke) 2 liter bottles were the same price as the Kosher for Passover bottles. As I recall, in the past the K for P were typically 20 to 50 cents more a bottle. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ I'll have to ask Coke Bear (image above) about this (although me tell me 'Don't Ask Me About My Business".
Almost 50 F degree drop from yesterday
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Yesterday was warm enough to use the Air conditioner in the car. The high was 86F at National Airport at 5 PM. Today, it is, at 1 PM, 34F there. And we have snow on the ground (see image) and on the trees. No good images of snow on spring flowers however. On the good side there is almost no traffic or walking problems. The NWS at National Airport said,
........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
A high of at least 77 degrees was observed in the predawn, which is the warmest it has been on the same day as accumulating snow. Before this, the top mark was 67 degrees on Nov. 11, 1995, when 0.2 inches accumulated the same day.
Wednesday’s 86 degrees was also the warmest on the day prior to snow accumulation. Before this round, the warmest it has been the day before accumulation is 78 degrees on March 18, 1934, when 0.1 inches fell the next day (and the official recording station was in downtown DC, not National Airport at that time).
------------------------------------------------------
Monday, March 09, 2026
We had a teeter-totter to play with; kids now have VR UFOs
I was at Montgomery Mall today to see the eye doctor (more on that in the previous post). On the way to the doctor's office I saw a mall display for kids to play with virtual reality motorcyles (first image) and virtual reality UFO rides (second image and by the way this seats 4). Of course my childhood teeter totters and jungle gyms and other 'not entirely safe' playground equipment. However, it was free. To use the VR rides you have to buy tokens ,,,,......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... I did one VR ride in a museum in Philadelphia back a few years ago. You seemed to be swimming into coral reefs and other fun stuff - it really wan't that good........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Also, I remember a top ten list by Letterman where he lists great things about the USA. One of them was that we have more people who have actually ridden UFOs than all other countries combined.
.
Interesting Vision Developments
At the Eye doctor today. Took quite a while because the results of the exam were confusing (although I did a new prescription - first image). When we did some supplemental high res photos of my right eye, there seemed to be the beginning of macular degeneration. Interestingly, there is some indication that an existing approved pill to treat dry eye has been effective in some people in reducing the pace of degeneration, halting the pace or even reversing it. The medicine is shown in the second image. The medicine is over the counter also. The eye doctor said to take it for a few months and see if it helps and gave me a little test chart to look at to evaluate myself. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. At first the eye doctor thought I was having incipient cataract disease but after looking at the high res photos they had taken over the past 15 years or so he came to another opinion.
Tuesday, March 03, 2026
Houseplant Moves to the Sun Room Anticipating Warm Week
It was cold this morning but has warmed up a little. Starting tomorrow we should finally have a long string of above normal temperatures. I decided to move one of my houseplants to the sun room. This plant had been a bit droopy from not having enough sunlight. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. The little bit of red (click to enlarge) is a small ornamental from Valentine's day. I think it is a dwarf Weigela
Monday, February 23, 2026
Shovel the Snow in the Front Yard, Shovel the Snow in the Backyard
The two images (click to enlarge) are the backyard and the frontyard this morning. About 4" of snow in our yard. For the three airports, DCA got 1.0, IAD got 2.0 and BWI got 1.9 inches of snow. The highest total I saw near us in Montgomery County was 5.9 inches in Damascus. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. It reminds me of a play years ago when George was the character Jack Frost and at one point his 'snowflakes' (other kids) were singing a song that went "Shovel the Snow in Front Yard, Shovel the Snow in the Back Yard, I'm so glad its snowing, tra la la la la la la." And No, I've never shoveled snow in my back yard and I don't know anyone who has. Also, I didn't shovel today and the sidewalk is basically clear although there still is some in the driveway. In any event, the video of this play with George in it is up on Youtube at ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq0vgk2MToY
Sunday, February 22, 2026
The Shmurah Matzoah is in early this year
At the Montrose Crossing Giant today I noticed that the store is gearing up to sell Passover products even though we are still more than a week before Purim. Notably, the Shmurah Matzoah was already available (click on image to enlarge). .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... I don't think I've ever seen Shmurah Matzoah sold in a non kosher grocery before but it is this year. In fact if I recall correctly, Shmurah matzoah wasn't even sold anywhere 50 years ago. The issue of whether regular matzoah could or should be used at a sedar came up a few years ago at one local synagogue. The issue was contentious and the rabbi left the congregation after (or maybe during) the discussion of the issue. ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The title of this post is inspired by a line in the first Blues Brothers movie where Elwood, after the car he is driving crashes into a car dealership in the Mall, says, "The new Oldsmobiles are in early this year."
Sunday, February 15, 2026
V Day Pizza
I don't think I've ever posted my Valentine's day gift. However, the restaurant at which I do mashgiach work decided they could make this and I thought they did a great job. ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Plan to have it for lunch today.
Monday, February 09, 2026
No Loss of Power in Extreme Cold thank goodness
The first image is from an alert issued 6 February. We had some brutal cold with temperatures below 10F, afternoon temperature around 20F and enough wind on 7 February to topple our trash and recyle vessels. This was the first Extreme Cold Warning for our area since 1994. .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... The second image is the estimate of ice in the Chesapeake area as of 9 February.
Tuesday, February 03, 2026
Corporate Information Dream
I had been reading about the merger of two oil producing companies (Devon Energy and Coterra Energy) yesterday (we own some of Devon). In my dream last night, I had given a written report to the officers of the corporation about another company and their technical capabilities. I was in meeting with to discuss that report. One of the officers said to me that my report was too indirect and that I obviously thought the other company had only primitive technical capacity but I didn't say it plainly. He wanted to know why. I said that I wanted to keep it a bit low key in case our company was going to be bought by that company and the report embarrassed us. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................The corporate officer said that in that case we would have solved the problem by firing the report author so I shouldn't have worried about that. I said, "But I was the report author.". "Correct" said the corporate officer.
Monday, February 02, 2026
A Week After the Storm and Montgomery County Schools Were Closed Today
Our street is ploughed reasonably well. However, based on what it looks like when the snow is moved, I think a lot of areas are still only partially ploughed, for example cul-de-sacs which are a problem for snow ploughs.
............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. and we did get up to 35F at DCA and 32F in Rockville today, so that's an improvement from the more brutal cold of the past week. The map of ice on the Chesapeake and nearby waters is the result of the extreme cold.
Thursday, January 29, 2026
Some Vodka now has a kosher hechshur
I was at one of the ABC stores today. I was looking for some Vodka. I noticed that there were some brands that had a kosher symbol. Tito's Vodka was one of them. I've bought that brand several times, including in Israel where the store sales guy told me a lot of Russians prefer that brand to the Russian brands of vodka. Tito has been on the 'approved' list at the OU and StarK website for many years but the bottles had not carried the kosher symbol on the bottle. This year, Tito's had the OU symbol. The other was Smirnoff. It was also on the approved list for many years. It carried the KSA symbol. Smirnoff has gone through many owners. It is now part of Diageo, the same company that owns Guiness .........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Both Tito's and Smirnoff are made in the USA. Tito is made in Austin Texas. Smirnoff is made in many countries, although not currently in Russia (there is a distillary in Riga, Latvia). All the Smirnoff products sold in the USA are made in Plainfield, Illinois west of Chicago and about 10 miles NW of Joliet. Both Tito's and Smirnoff use corn rather than potatoes to produce the alcohol. Both use multiple distillation to remove the aldehydes and other impurities.
Still Very Cold
Still very cold. We had minimum temperatures today below 20F. This was the 6th in a row for this. The next few days will also be like this. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................It hasn't gotten above 32F during this period and, as can be seen in the image, the snow piles are still pretty high. That's the ABC storn in Potomac Crossing above the snow pile.
Sunday, January 25, 2026
Anti Gravity
Sometimes when I go shopping and get to the check out, the check out clerk asks, "Did you find everything you wanted" (or words to that effect). Frequently I will respond, "Well, I didn't find any anti gravity pills but then again the other groceries don't seem to carry it either" (or words to that effect). One clerk answered, "You should try isle 9 1/2 (which is a very clever Harry Potter related answer). ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... but this cartoon shows that you could actually have an anti gravity machine pretty cheaply
Archives
09/01/2003 - 10/01/2003
10/01/2003 - 11/01/2003
11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003
12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004
01/01/2004 - 02/01/2004
02/01/2004 - 03/01/2004
03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004
04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004
05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004
06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004
07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004
08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004
09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004
10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004
11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004
12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005
01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005
02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005
03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005
04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005
05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005
06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005
07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005
08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005
09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005
10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005
11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005
12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006
01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006
02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006
03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006
04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006
05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006
06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006
07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006
08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006
09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006
10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006
11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006
12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007
01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007
02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007
03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007
04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007
05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007
06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007
07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007
08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007
09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007
10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007
11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007
12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008
01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008
02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008
03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008
04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008
05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008
06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008
07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008
08/01/2008 - 09/01/2008
09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008
10/01/2008 - 11/01/2008
11/01/2008 - 12/01/2008
12/01/2008 - 01/01/2009
01/01/2009 - 02/01/2009
02/01/2009 - 03/01/2009
03/01/2009 - 04/01/2009
04/01/2009 - 05/01/2009
05/01/2009 - 06/01/2009
06/01/2009 - 07/01/2009
07/01/2009 - 08/01/2009
08/01/2009 - 09/01/2009
09/01/2009 - 10/01/2009
10/01/2009 - 11/01/2009
11/01/2009 - 12/01/2009
12/01/2009 - 01/01/2010
01/01/2010 - 02/01/2010
02/01/2010 - 03/01/2010
03/01/2010 - 04/01/2010
04/01/2010 - 05/01/2010
05/01/2010 - 06/01/2010
06/01/2010 - 07/01/2010
07/01/2010 - 08/01/2010
08/01/2010 - 09/01/2010
09/01/2010 - 10/01/2010
10/01/2010 - 11/01/2010
11/01/2010 - 12/01/2010
12/01/2010 - 01/01/2011
01/01/2011 - 02/01/2011
02/01/2011 - 03/01/2011
03/01/2011 - 04/01/2011
04/01/2011 - 05/01/2011
05/01/2011 - 06/01/2011
06/01/2011 - 07/01/2011
07/01/2011 - 08/01/2011
08/01/2011 - 09/01/2011
09/01/2011 - 10/01/2011
10/01/2011 - 11/01/2011
11/01/2011 - 12/01/2011
12/01/2011 - 01/01/2012
01/01/2012 - 02/01/2012
02/01/2012 - 03/01/2012
03/01/2012 - 04/01/2012
04/01/2012 - 05/01/2012
05/01/2012 - 06/01/2012
06/01/2012 - 07/01/2012
07/01/2012 - 08/01/2012
08/01/2012 - 09/01/2012
09/01/2012 - 10/01/2012
10/01/2012 - 11/01/2012
11/01/2012 - 12/01/2012
12/01/2012 - 01/01/2013
01/01/2013 - 02/01/2013
02/01/2013 - 03/01/2013
03/01/2013 - 04/01/2013
04/01/2013 - 05/01/2013
05/01/2013 - 06/01/2013
06/01/2013 - 07/01/2013
07/01/2013 - 08/01/2013
08/01/2013 - 09/01/2013
09/01/2013 - 10/01/2013
10/01/2013 - 11/01/2013
11/01/2013 - 12/01/2013
12/01/2013 - 01/01/2014
01/01/2014 - 02/01/2014
02/01/2014 - 03/01/2014
03/01/2014 - 04/01/2014
04/01/2014 - 05/01/2014
05/01/2014 - 06/01/2014
06/01/2014 - 07/01/2014
07/01/2014 - 08/01/2014
08/01/2014 - 09/01/2014
09/01/2014 - 10/01/2014
10/01/2014 - 11/01/2014
11/01/2014 - 12/01/2014
12/01/2014 - 01/01/2015
01/01/2015 - 02/01/2015
02/01/2015 - 03/01/2015
03/01/2015 - 04/01/2015
04/01/2015 - 05/01/2015
05/01/2015 - 06/01/2015
06/01/2015 - 07/01/2015
07/01/2015 - 08/01/2015
08/01/2015 - 09/01/2015
09/01/2015 - 10/01/2015
10/01/2015 - 11/01/2015
11/01/2015 - 12/01/2015
12/01/2015 - 01/01/2016
01/01/2016 - 02/01/2016
02/01/2016 - 03/01/2016
03/01/2016 - 04/01/2016
04/01/2016 - 05/01/2016
05/01/2016 - 06/01/2016
06/01/2016 - 07/01/2016
07/01/2016 - 08/01/2016
08/01/2016 - 09/01/2016
09/01/2016 - 10/01/2016
10/01/2016 - 11/01/2016
11/01/2016 - 12/01/2016
12/01/2016 - 01/01/2017
01/01/2017 - 02/01/2017
02/01/2017 - 03/01/2017
03/01/2017 - 04/01/2017
04/01/2017 - 05/01/2017
05/01/2017 - 06/01/2017
06/01/2017 - 07/01/2017
07/01/2017 - 08/01/2017
08/01/2017 - 09/01/2017
09/01/2017 - 10/01/2017
10/01/2017 - 11/01/2017
11/01/2017 - 12/01/2017
12/01/2017 - 01/01/2018
01/01/2018 - 02/01/2018
02/01/2018 - 03/01/2018
03/01/2018 - 04/01/2018
04/01/2018 - 05/01/2018
05/01/2018 - 06/01/2018
06/01/2018 - 07/01/2018
07/01/2018 - 08/01/2018
08/01/2018 - 09/01/2018
09/01/2018 - 10/01/2018
10/01/2018 - 11/01/2018
11/01/2018 - 12/01/2018
12/01/2018 - 01/01/2019
01/01/2019 - 02/01/2019
02/01/2019 - 03/01/2019
03/01/2019 - 04/01/2019
04/01/2019 - 05/01/2019
05/01/2019 - 06/01/2019
06/01/2019 - 07/01/2019
07/01/2019 - 08/01/2019
08/01/2019 - 09/01/2019
09/01/2019 - 10/01/2019
10/01/2019 - 11/01/2019
11/01/2019 - 12/01/2019
12/01/2019 - 01/01/2020
01/01/2020 - 02/01/2020
02/01/2020 - 03/01/2020
03/01/2020 - 04/01/2020
04/01/2020 - 05/01/2020
05/01/2020 - 06/01/2020
06/01/2020 - 07/01/2020
07/01/2020 - 08/01/2020
08/01/2020 - 09/01/2020
09/01/2020 - 10/01/2020
10/01/2020 - 11/01/2020
11/01/2020 - 12/01/2020
12/01/2020 - 01/01/2021
01/01/2021 - 02/01/2021
02/01/2021 - 03/01/2021
03/01/2021 - 04/01/2021
04/01/2021 - 05/01/2021
05/01/2021 - 06/01/2021
06/01/2021 - 07/01/2021
07/01/2021 - 08/01/2021
08/01/2021 - 09/01/2021
09/01/2021 - 10/01/2021
10/01/2021 - 11/01/2021
11/01/2021 - 12/01/2021
12/01/2021 - 01/01/2022
01/01/2022 - 02/01/2022
02/01/2022 - 03/01/2022
03/01/2022 - 04/01/2022
04/01/2022 - 05/01/2022
05/01/2022 - 06/01/2022
06/01/2022 - 07/01/2022
07/01/2022 - 08/01/2022
08/01/2022 - 09/01/2022
09/01/2022 - 10/01/2022
10/01/2022 - 11/01/2022
11/01/2022 - 12/01/2022
12/01/2022 - 01/01/2023
01/01/2023 - 02/01/2023
02/01/2023 - 03/01/2023
03/01/2023 - 04/01/2023
04/01/2023 - 05/01/2023
05/01/2023 - 06/01/2023
06/01/2023 - 07/01/2023
07/01/2023 - 08/01/2023
08/01/2023 - 09/01/2023
09/01/2023 - 10/01/2023
10/01/2023 - 11/01/2023
11/01/2023 - 12/01/2023
12/01/2023 - 01/01/2024
01/01/2024 - 02/01/2024
02/01/2024 - 03/01/2024
03/01/2024 - 04/01/2024
04/01/2024 - 05/01/2024
05/01/2024 - 06/01/2024
06/01/2024 - 07/01/2024
07/01/2024 - 08/01/2024
08/01/2024 - 09/01/2024
09/01/2024 - 10/01/2024
10/01/2024 - 11/01/2024
11/01/2024 - 12/01/2024
12/01/2024 - 01/01/2025
01/01/2025 - 02/01/2025
02/01/2025 - 03/01/2025
03/01/2025 - 04/01/2025
04/01/2025 - 05/01/2025
05/01/2025 - 06/01/2025
06/01/2025 - 07/01/2025
07/01/2025 - 08/01/2025
08/01/2025 - 09/01/2025
09/01/2025 - 10/01/2025
10/01/2025 - 11/01/2025
11/01/2025 - 12/01/2025
12/01/2025 - 01/01/2026
01/01/2026 - 02/01/2026
02/01/2026 - 03/01/2026
03/01/2026 - 04/01/2026
04/01/2026 - 05/01/2026
I was in Seattle with old college friends. We went to the Space Needle and then to the Chihuly Gardens and Glass Museum. The first image is in the bar adjacent to the museum. I had a few beers there but really loved the accordian themed ceiling for it uniqueness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next two images are from the Glass Garden and Gallery. The artist lived near Seattle but his work is featured in many locations. It is really impressive given the not-so-great structural issues with glass. 
