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Randy Cassingham’s BlogHistorical Details and Author’s Notes from This is True®
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Irreproducible
There was a magazine I read back in the 80s that I enjoyed: The Journal of Irreproducible Results, or JIR. A lot of the nerdy folks at NASA liked it (and there are a lot of nerdy folks at NASA!): it is, according to its tagline, "The Science Humor Magazine".
The Very, VERY Beginning
My buddy "Jawn" from my NASA days is one of those natural social networkers. I don't mean on Facebook, I mean in real life, and throughout his whole life. Several of his friends are on a mailing list together; I know them all in Real Life myself, and they're all great guys. One, Hy, sent out a joke to the group today about men and power tools (on Jumbo Joke here).
The Return of Paul Myers
OK, my old buddy Paul hasn't gone anywhere, but I've talked about him before on this blog, and it's time I talked about him again. He's the type of friend that if I make a quick phone call to him (as I did today, to catch up), we end up gabbing for over an hour. Sometimes three. Paul made his reputation as an advertising copywriter for some of the biggest names in marketing — and then he chucked it all to help people creating businesses with really low-cost products that give a lot of bang for the buck.
Unusual Unsubscribes
When people unsubscribe from This is True, they have the opportunity to leave comments. Most don't, and oddly some think they "have to" (I mean really: "No comment."?) And of course some use it as an opportunity to protest -- like when I tell the truth that they don't want to hear.
And then there are the weird ones.
Even Non-Weird Stories Can Be Weird
Yes, I know I'm weird. I know I see things differently than most people. I know I notice things that ...um... normal people mostly wouldn't. And I skim a lot of news stories while searching out illustrations of the Human Condition.
Why I Embrace "Gay Marriage"
Simply put, I fully believe in the idea that "all men* are created equal" and are entitled to equal protection under the law.
*("men" being a generic word for humans, as in "mankind" — I believe the statement equally applies to women.)
Walmart Hostage Situation
A tagline on a story this week was designed to provoke. I even talked about the tagline and said it was to provoke. Yet it still brought complaints and "disagreement" — even though it's impossible to agree or disagree with my thoughts, since the tag didn't reveal my thoughts.
But I still made a huge mistake!
"They're Landing On My Car!"
Well, that's the way it felt, anyway! For a brief moment.
Last fall I talked about helping a helicopter to land — in the middle of the highway in the middle of the night. Just got back from doing it again, except this time it was the middle of the day ...and I had my camera ready.
Winter Wildlife
One of the things I like about being on the rural side of Colorado is the frequent wildlife sightings. Bunnies and jackrabbits are common. On our property, we've also seen coyotes, deer, elk, a badger(!), a bear (alas, only my wife saw that one), prairie dogs, eagles (both Golden and Bald), vultures, foxes, and while we didn't see the animal, we've found mountain lion tracks here.
Provoking Thought: Child Support Division
It's nice when someone else goes on a rant, so I don't have to!
A story by Mike Straw in last week's (30 December 2012) issue went for the laugh in the tagline. A reader -- Wayne, in the U.S. military and deployed to Afghanistan -- thought Mike should have gone more for "thought-provoking". Let's start with the story:
Continue reading "Provoking Thought: Child Support Division" »
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