THE WEISS CHRONICLES

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.

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.

Back in the 60s, if I recall correctly, there were only a few places with the big ornamental trees blooming in the spring. One was the cherry blossom stand around the reflecting pool near the Lincoln Memorial. The stand dates to the early 20th century but I think none of the trees now there are from the original planting. In the late 70s, Ann and I would walk around this area during lunch at the peak bloom time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Things are different now. Many residential streets have rows of cherry blossoms, this includes our street. Even more than that, Cherry and Pear blossoms are now found near industrial areas, office complexes and even in front of parking garages. Most of these pictures (click to enlarge) were taken April 5, 2026. They are all within 4 miles of us.

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.

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.

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".