AGING

 Aging has it's downs and ups.  I had both last week..  

First, I discovered that the pain on the outside of my right hip had a name.  I think it is GTPS.  Not to worry - I can stand it.  Just knowing the name makes it more palatable.  I was disturbed to hear that it is seen most often in older women than men but I'll try to ignore that.  

Second, I figured out how to stand up without help from any object from a position flat on the floor.  Don't worry, I lain down on my own to give this a try.  I've done it several times over the past weeks but finally  feel confident now that if I fall I can get back up even if there is no one or nothing around to assist me.  (That way I won't have to tell anyone I fell.)

A lady joined my group for breakfast one day last week and was moaning about aging.  She looked old enough for our group.  Turns out she was 51.  As several comedians have said, "I have underwear older than that!"  I might add, "and four children."

Age is just a number until it's yours.

MIDWEEK PRAYER

 Today is daughter Michelle's birthday.  May it be happy.  

Let's pray for all those being born today and for the mothers wrestling with the decision whether to allow their child to be born. 

Oh Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of our Lord, today ask your Son, Jesus, to guide and console all mothers during their pregnancy. No creature is more needy than a newborn child.  We pray for protection for it from the day it is conceived in it's mother to the day it is born. May each child brought into the world this day be loved and cared for.  Amen

PILOT TRAINING

 Did you know; of course you didn't, so here goes.  It's nice when everyone gets together and agrees on one thing like this.

The stripes down the center of every airport runway are painted 120 feet long.  The distance between stripes is 80 feet.  That makes 200 feet from the beginning of one strip to the beginning of the next.  This helps the pilot judge distances when landing.  Very important!

Runway numbers are determined by the first two digits of the degree from north in the direction of landing.  Here's what that means.  There are 360 degrees in a circle.  The very top of the circle is the point where 360° meets 0° and the very bottom is 180 degrees.  So direct north is 360° and direct south is 180°;  direct east is 90° and west 270°.  Got it so far?  Okay!  

So a runway on which you are landing from due north toward due south would be runway 36.  If you are landing on the same runway from south to north, it is called runway 18.  CVG runways happen to be directly north-south and east west so that's how they are named.  Runways can be placed in any convenient direction so the number would change accordingly.  Every plane has a compass on it to show the pilot which direction he is going and, of course, landing.

Air traffic controllers (ATC) choose the runway and direction of take-off and landing to accommodate the wind, weather, airplane type, special situations and convenience to airport facilities.  Without the ATC, the country would be shut down.  The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) handles around 45,000 flights on a typical day.  At any given moment, about 5,000 aircraft are in the sky over the U.S, 

Fly safely, friends.  I wish you one of my favorite words: GODSPEED.  Merriam-Webster defines it as:  "a prosperous and successful journey".   

QUIZ

Maybe my quizzes have been bent too strongly to the male population.  Here's one for the ladies as well as the men.  I certainly hope I'm not being mistaken for a misogynist.   Anyone should know these answers or have an opinion.

1. Do you spell shapewear with a "KS" or an "X" ?
2. Do you iron cotton with a higher or lower temperature than spandex?
3. How long can cooked hamburgers be safely left in the refrigerator before eating?
4. Should a person clean the screens at the same time they clean the windows or at a later time?
5. If a toilet is more often used by men than women, should the seat be left up or down?
6. Is it a great idea to let dishes and dinnerware soak in the sink before placing in the dishwasher?
7. When doing the wash, should a person throw in the detergent pod before the clothes or after?
8. Is it better to refill the car's gas tank just before or just after using it?
9. Should beer be stored at room temperature or chilled until ready to drink?
10. Is it more economical to buy new clothes each season or store the ones not used as often?

Bonus question:  What percentage of square feet of floorspace should be allotted to closets in a new home?

HALLOWEEN

 Do you know the word hallowed?   It means sacred, holy, revered.  It is used in the prayer we call the Our Father.  In it, we ask or affirm that His name is or should be hallowed.  Hallows would be those that are sacred, holy and or revered.  Halloween is the day before the Christian feast honoring all the saints.  It is the eve of the day of the hallows.  

WORDS

Here I go again with words.  This one I caught myself on just the other day.  How you accept this critique tells something about your personality.  Test yourself.

If you were told that "You don't smell good!" would you assume that your deoderant had failed or your nose?   My wife told me more than once that I was very deficient in my sense of smell.  Usually, this occured when I ate some food that she considered rotten.  "Can't you smell that?"  "No, it tasted okay to me."  

So, if you ever tell me that I don't "smell good", I would assume you mean my sense of smell was lacking.  God forbid, you discovered I hadn't taken a shower in . . . a few days.

MIDWEEK PRAYER

 Today, the prayer that those in Alcoholics Anonymous say at each meeting.  It offers comfort and guidance to those in recovery.  It can offer the same to all of us - we all fight some addiction or other weakness in our lives.  

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can (that need to be changed) and the wisdom to know the difference."  AMEN

FLYING INSECTS

Bees, hornets, yellow jackets, etc.  I'm not good at telling the difference. 

I know honey bees are good and the earth would soon be in total famine without them. We've got to do all we can to save them. 

Hornets are the ones who build these sweetpotato-shaped homes in trees.  Not sure if they aid in pollination of plants or not.  My son climbed up a tree to investigate a large one when he was quite young and fell from the limb with a stinger to-boot. It was a tough lesson. 

Yellow jackets, I think, live in the ground.  Don't know what good they do for anyone except the queen.  They dig deep into the ground, build quite a large structure and have their queen near the bottom.  Disturb their home and they will swarm and sting you repeatedly.  I can attest to this - I outran a swarm I dug into but heard the yelps of my dog following me.  Quite an experience.

What's all this about?  Some flying creatures, yellow jackets I presume, have made a home just outside mine in amongst some bushes near the front door.  I've noticed it in the last month and the activity is tremendous.  I've learned that the only thing to do is kill them.  Sorry folks.  Most, except the queen and her best buddies, will die with the cold weather, anyway.  

The timing and the methods are important.  Like all flying insects, they pretty much give up what they are doing when it gets cold.  We had 30 degree temps last Friday but I wasn't sure if that was cold enough.  I'm chicken!  I plan on waiting until we have freezing temps.  When that day comes, I'm going to pour dawn dish soap down their hole.  I've been told by YouTube (from which all knowledge now comes) that it works.  

I'll make a full report when the day comes.  

QUIZ

Is everyone too busy doing WORDLE to spend the time necessary to solve my puzzles?  Well, this is your last chance.  I had better see some answers or else...!

Can you believe that the grand slam home run that Addison Barger hit in the first game of this year's World Series was the first ever - by a pinch hitter in a World Series game?  Major League Baseball is full of records.  I think that's one of the big things that keeps it going.  

The following is a list of almost unbreakable major league baseball records and a list of the players who hold those records.  See if you can match the names to the records.  It's not that hard.

1. 4,256 hits in a career
2. 232 bases on balls in a season
3. 5,714 strike outs by a pitcher in a career
4. 2,632 consecutive games played without an off day
5. 191 runs batted in
6. 56 games in a row with at least one hit
7. 262 hits in a season
8. 511 career wins by a pitcher
9. 73 home runs in one season
10. 1,406 stolen bases in a career

EARTH

Where would you go if you wanted to stand on the spot closest to the center of the Earth?  I know you never thought about it but do it now and don't ask why!  

The answer is you would have to find land under the north pole - through the ice and under the water.  The Earth is not a round ball, its a ball that is squeezed flat on two spots - the poles.  The furthest spots to the center are on mountains near the equator.  Doesn't seem quite right, does it?

Here's the answer to Monday's quiz.  I've rearranged the words to show the answers and the final answer that describes me.

Dermotologist - Skin  S

Misogynist - Women  W

Ophthalmologist - Eyes  E

Optometrist - Eyes  E

Orthodontist  - Teeth  T

Cardiologist - Heart  H

Audiologists - Ears  E

Anesthesiologist - Anesthesia  A

Proctologist - Rectum  R

Dentist - Teeth  T

Yes, I am a sweetheart - sometimes!

The first one with the correct answer was Andy L.  Congratulations!

MORE MONEYBALL

 Last week it was money given to baseball players.  This week some other rich people.  

What bands sold the most record albums and made the most in today's money:

1. Beatles
2. Queen
3. Led Zeppelin
4. Pink Floyd
5. Rolling Stones
6. U2
7. Bee Gees
8. AC/DC
9. ABBA
10. Eagles

One thing to remember - this list changes every year.  The Stones are still selling albums more so than Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.  Anyway, all the lists I found included the same bands though some in slightly different order. In every case, the Beatles are waaaaay out front.  

MIDWEEK PRAYER

 Today, let's pray for peace in Ukraine. Upon further consideration, let's pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia and the idiot leaders who can't find a way to end killing each other.  

Almighty God, thank you for all the blessings we have received.  We have lived so many years without war of any kind in our country.  It is truly a blessing.  May we always be thankful. So many places in the world cannot say this.  

We pray for all the people of Ukraine and Russia, that they can experience this peace in their lives.  You can change the world but your gift to us of free-will is being abused by leaders choosing to seek power and satisfy greed.  Please provide guidance and help to all the world to do it's part in bringing peace to their land.  Amen

GOVERNMENT FIGURES

Just how many people are employed by the US Federal Government?  It baffles me.  I found this the other day.  These figures are related to the executive branch of our government and do not include employees of the military, the post office, the White House, the CIA and related organizations. Also, no Legislators or their staffs or Justices or their staffs.  Didja get all that?

There are 16,436 subordinate offices to the executive branch -  that's offices.  These offices are located within 259 agencies (34 are cabinet level and 225 are different levels but all independent).  In those offices are 2,252,162 workers employees. Yes, that's two million plus a bunch!  

The average worker above is 47 years old and has been employed by the government for 10 years.  Their average pay is $93,828/year. 

The above info cames from the US Office of Personnel Management - it is accurate as of March 2024  (1-1/2 years ago).    Just thought you'd like to know.

QUIZ

Here is a new twist on my quiz puzzles.  It's all about "-ists."  You probably don't know just how many -ists you know.  Here's the way it works.  I'll give you an -ist and you write down what this -ist has to do with and then note the first letter.  Here is an example:  Allergist has to do with allergies - the first letter is "A".  Psychiatrist has to do with brains - the first letter is "B".  Podiatrist has to do with feet - the first letter is "F".  Move those around and you come up with FAB which is a description of me. LOL!  Okay, give it a try.  One -ist is not medical.  Yes, the 10-letter word will might describe me.

Cardiologist

Anesthesiologist

Dentist

Ophthalmologist

Proctologist

Mysogynist

Dermatologist

Orthodontist

Audiologist

Optometrist

If its not working out for you, try a different word that the specialist is treating.  Note that all can be clicked for explanation.

I'd say the difficulty rating of this one is ****