What I Heard This Week 12-30-2021
Aren’t the new security doorbells great? I watched a video about an Amazon delivery driver helping save a teen being attacked by a dog. “You’re a bad dog!” Then there were several deliveries where the packages are being chucked from a very far distance like they were throwing a ball… a bowling ball. One time it was more like a Frisbee. Then there was the Amazon guy that ran into a spider web on his way to the front door, swiping at the web as he accidently let go of a package that flew straight up into the air, landing on the roof. Proof of an accident. And then there was the Amazon guy that spit on the packing tape, then smeared it in before he walked off. Do you find any irony in the fact that Amazon now owns Ring Doorbell? Then, best of all, recently a man told his wife that he wasn’t feeling well enough to go on a family trip, but their doorbell camera showed that he had visited with a half-naked woman sharing his home while the family was away. Gee, I bet there are so many people wishing they had been lucky enough to have doorbell cameras available years ago… might have saved a ton heartache.
My wife just stopped and said, “You weren’t even listening, were you?” I thought to myself… “That’s a pretty strange way to start off a conversation.”
The FDA has authorized the first antiviral pill to treat Covid at home. It is called Paxlovid, made by Pfizer, and is taken orally twice a day for five days in combination with a second medicine called ritonavir, a generic antiviral. Hopefully it will help keep people that are infected from getting so sick that they need hospitalization.
A woman thought she had found a bargain hotel room through Airbnb near Times Square in NY. The photos online had showed a room with a view of the city. The couple arrived late at the hotel, it was dark, and they went straight to bed. The next morning, she went to the window thinking she was going to see a building, a skyline, or something other than… a window that looked straight into the restaurant, with a table less than a foot away. She said she could have opened the window and joined the people eating their lunch. The wall of the restaurant is mirrored so the customers could not see her. The company apologized and will make it right… because she posted a TikTok video.
Michael Fanone, among the most severely injured fighting the Capitol mob on January 6th and later one of the most outspoken against those playing down the riot, has resigned from the D.C. police force. He deserves our thanks and respect for enduring a frightening cruelty that should never have happened.
Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough. Franklin D. Roosevelt
A New Year’s Resolution Idea: Go do something kind for someone right now. Don’t wait. It can be a sweet note left on a windshield or 3-course meal, a small plant, or even a stop during your walk to pull a few weeds for an elderly neighbor. Just do something nice, and you do NOT have to sign your name. There is a very valuable consciousness-raising practice of doing daily acts of kindness without letting anyone know you did them. At times we may do something nice for someone because we appreciate the gratitude or recognition, but the simple truth is that there is so much more reward in doing something good without the recognition… you will feel so good about yourself. They say that the true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is looking, but is your character defined by the good things you do only when you know someone is watching and taking notes. Do you have to tell people how wonderful you are? In pursuit of being the best people we can be, we could all afford to do at least one kind, unrevealed, good deed each day. I’m going to do better in 2022. Our world needs more kindness right now. From everyone.
Get your hanky ready. The ruler of Dubai, who has six wives and 30 children, was ordered to pay his princess ex-wife (wife #6 and daughter of the late King Hussein of Jordan) and their children more than $730 million, the most expensive divorce settlement in British history, where they now live. $14.5 million a year is set aside just to provide for their security cost, mainly because their main threat is their father.
Why, when the doorbell rings, the dog runs to the corner of the living room? He’s a boxer.
William Shatner, 90, was involved in an LA car accident. Everyone is ok. Wasn’t it about two months ago that Captain Kirk blasted into space on Jeff Bezos’ rocket? I guess there is a lot more traffic in LA.
As our Earth continues to warm, we are finding some crazy stuff when the ice melts. According to Current Biology, scientists in Russia have revived a bdelloid rotifer – a multicellular microorganism found in wet environments – after the invertebrate spent 24,000 years frozen 11 feet beneath the Siberian permafrost. Researchers believed these tiny creatures could slow their metabolisms down to almost stagnant and survive frozen for up to 10 years. Well, it might just be a little longer than that, since the 24,000-year-old rotifer was able to reproduce and feed after being thawed.
Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. – Scott Adams
The following case is now used as an example of how media and bias can adversely affect a trial or public opinion. In August 1980, a nine-week-old Australian baby girl was reportedly taken from a tent on a family camping trip. The mom said that she had seen a dingo with the baby. Her body was never found; the mother was tried for murder and spend more than three years in prison despite there being no body, no evidence of motive, and no eyewitness evidence. Officials said there was evidence in the car showing where the child had been murdered. The father was also put in jail for a period of time. Campers, rangers, trackers, searchers, or local police never doubted that a dingo could have taken a baby. In the mothers’ defense, eyewitness said there had been a dingo sighting in the campground earlier in the evening that the baby disappeared. A hiker found some of the garments the baby had been dressed in, a snap-buttoned jumpsuit, an undershirt, and pieces of a diaper, nearly three miles away by dingo dens. But a little jacket was still missing. In 1986 a rock climber fell to his death in that same area. During the search for his body, partially buried in the sand outside a dingo den, was the missing jacket. The bloodstains in their car turned out to be chocolate milkshake, and the copper ore dust was overspray from sound deadener applied at the car’s factory. In 1988, the Australian High Court awarded the couple $1.3 million in damages, not even enough to pay for a portion of their legal expenses, let alone enough to compensate them for pain and suffering. I would have hated to be part of that jury.
A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees. Amelia Earhart
The U.S. Secret Service stated that nearly $100 billion at minimum has been stolen from COVID-19 relief programs. Boston will now begin banning unvaccinated people from going to all restaurants, bars, nightclubs, sports arenas, fitness centers, movie theaters, concert venues, museums, and entertainment venues. Boston Smart. Boston Strong.
“All these people who have not been vaccinated: you have an obligation to yourselves, to your families, and quite frankly – and I know I’ll get criticized for this – to your country,” he said. “I honest-to-God believe it’s your patriotic duty.” President Biden
Many thanks to Duane and Janet for organizing the maintenance and upkeep on the entrance of our subdivision. We all met a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday morning and had all the rose bushes cut back, hauled cuttings to the side of the road for the city to pick up, and were on our way to our next Saturday project by ten, or so. Mulching the bed is next on the list. Without them organizing us, I would have still been in my pajamas around ten, eating a big bowl of oatmeal. Thanks to Kim for the pretty little poinsettia and for Teller’s Christmas Cactus toy. Teller is now celebrating life eating homemade dogfood that Jaimee and David gave him. Thank you! He just loves it… I overheard him whispering to another dog at the dog park, “I’ve got my own chef!” What a dog. What great friends.
We can’t help everyone, but everyone can help someone. Ronald Reagan
Supposedly, there was a Bob Hope & Bing Crosby movie where Bob orders a sissy drink in a tough guy bar, then Bing elbows him and adds, “in a dirty glass,” so Bob will look tougher ordering his sissy drink. I don’t know. I couldn’t find anything about it. Maybe it was Star Trek and it involved Metamucil in a dirty glass. I don’t know, I do know that I have been thinking about that dirty glass a lot. I thought the last two years of life in a dirty glass was about over for us. Well, 2021 is not ending exactly like I thought it was going to. I am a glass half-full kind of person, and the ending of this year is a little bit more like half-empty, lipstick stained, fingerprinted, chipped, and worn, kind of dirty glass that I would normally toss out in the recycle. But I know we can do it. Let’s just keep trying.
Don’t forget to eat your good luck food. Seriously, we need everyone to do their part this year. I’m sticking with black-eyed peas and cabbage, but I’ll still be in the garage polishing my glass.
- Pork represents prosperity and progress because pigs are plump and root forward when they eat.
- Greens like spinach, cabbage and broccoli are green like money, bringing wealth in the new year.
- Lentils are an Italian tradition representing luck and prosperity due to their similar appearance to coins.
- Grapes are a Spanish tradition – to bring luck for the next 12 months, eat 12 grapes in the first 12 seconds after the clock strikes midnight.
- Long Noodles in China and Japan signify longevity – the longer the noodle the longer life you will have.
- Cornbread symbolizes gold and who couldn’t use a little more gold in their life.
- Whole Fish represent prosperity because fish always travel in schools and the scales resemble silver coins. Plus, they always swim forward.
- Pomegranate is for prosperity in Turkey. The more seeds your fruit has, the richer you will become.
- Circle-Shaped foods like donuts and bagels represent the year coming full circle.
- Pretzels are eaten at midnight or before breakfast to bring good luck.
Thanks for taking time out of your year to spend it with us.
LISA
