triviageek

America is named for which Italian navigator?
Answer.

What is BlogShares? Does anyone know? And "triviageek stock" doesn't seem to be doing too well???   (Sheesh!)

By the way, I emailed them, asking nicely, to at least list my "industry" correctly but they haven't yet replied or updated my stats.

What color is cerulean?
Answer.

Is THIS:
     <style>div { clear: none !important; }</style>
the correct fix?

After using my favorite HTML teaching site, HTMLGOODIES, I deciphered enough of my template and Zoe's template to realize that she had a style sheet which I didn't. When I copied that one inline stylesheet, the problem lessened.

If this messes up what Blogger was trying to give me with it's new picture uploading and storage feature, so be it. When I tried to USE that feature yesterday, it didn't work correctly with my preferred browser anyway. In fact, the ONLY browser I have in which it DID work was IE which I loathe (for it's many, many security bugs).

So, at least for the time being, I am going to leave that new inline stylesheet in place as a usable fix.

Update 1 -- I just got confirmation that this is one of the acceptable fixes for the
problem (unless or until Blogger comes up with something) and I've restored the sidebar links that I'd temporarily removed because of the bug.

Update 2 -- Now blogger is insulting my blog! Just because it uses an "older" template, "Split Pea", they aparently felt that it wasn't worth bothering about in their initial testing:

  We've got a solution that provides users an easy way 
  to disable the markup that is causing them some layout 
  glitches with their blog. It will allow those who have 
  custom templates and certain older templates to 
  fix their blog up right proper. We're building and 
  testing the solution now and we'll let you know when 
  it is ready.

Update 3 -- Blogger has finially impletemented their "official fix" to the bug that they introduced days ago. So I have removed the "working fix":

           <style>div { clear: none !important; }</style> 

and have implemented Blogger's "offical fix":

           1. Sign in to your Blogger Dashboard
           2. Click the "Change Settings" icon next to your blog
           3. Click "Formatting" under the Settings tab
           4. Choose "No" on "Enable float alignment" 

Who or what are Lares and Penates?
Answer.

Blogger, this fix did NOT work:

Just below the line that says <style> or <style type="text/css"> 
try adding this:

     #main #menu {

      position: absolute;

      right: 21px;

     }

Then save and republish. This should help with the big space issue. 

It didn't change a thing.

That Horn of Plenty used as a centerpiece on the dinner table or as a decoration elsewhere during Thanksgiving festivities has another name. What is it?
Answer.

Blogger, what have you done? For some reason you are inserting a big blank space between the header and the content of the first entry at the top of the page. ARGH!!!

I had to shorten my list of links to make that blank area smaller.

Zoe noticed it but one of her readers helped her fix it!

*sigh* Well at least I learned that my base template is called "Split Pea" and I can get a fresh copy from Haloscan of the lines to insert into the template for their comments and traceback.

Although it was later made into both a movie and TV-series, who wrote the original book entitled "The Thin Man"?
Answer.

The Onion site is offering us a peek at the news of the future (circa 2056). It's well worth taking a close look at everything there -- from the "Million Robot March Attended by Exactly 1,000,000 Robots" (they WOULD BE very precise); "Lunar Olympic Officials Continue Search For Missing Pole Vaulter" (alas they ... ummm ... low gravity, you know); 40% of American High School Students Mind Reading at the Sixth Grade Level (when will concern over education quality end?); to even the list of languages in which the news are offered (Texan, for example). *giggle*

Via Amygdala

A pram (short for perambulator) is the name for what in the UK?
Answer.

This afternoon I was watching an episode of Wild West Tech on the History channel when I was surprised to see Johnny Fox offering comments. Then I saw Todd Robbins who I recognized from a CNN documentary.

The topic of that episode of Wild West Tech was sideshows in the old west and the "technology" used (and in some cases invented) to support them. So I guess having a swordswallower (Johnny Fox) and a human blockhead (Todd Robbins) demonstrating their craft and offering comments on practitioners in the old West does make sense.

It was just a pleasant surprise to see them offering comments along with more traditional historians.

What is the common name of urticaria?
Answer.

This is just disturbing on so many levels.

Was the guy peeking underneath her ... ahem ... undergarments? As a female it does give one reasons to question the wisdom of choosing airline travel.

Did he confiscate the money because of where she hid it? I can remember the first time I left home (also via an airplane) as a teenager that my parents insisted I carry my money hidden in my shoes. Was I just lucky that I wasn't searched then or are shoes preferable to unmentionables? Is a wallet the only valid place to carry money?

Or did he confiscate the money because of how much she was carrying? If it had been oh say $1000 would he have confiscated that too? Or was she over some unknown limit on the amount of cash travelers are allowed to carry with them? (I can remember my father once carrying, adjusted for inflation, about the equivalent of $25000 in cash when he went to a car dealership and paid IN CASH for a brand new car. Was he just lucky that he wasn't arrested for doing that?)

Why did the guy just automatically assume that she was a criminal and her money was Ok to seize? Isn't there a presumption of innocence anymore?

Why, after identifying herself and how she acquired the cash, did the authorities refuse to return her money so that she had to resort to a LAWSUIT to get her own legally acquired money back?

Will her lawsuit succeed? Or is the money just forfeited because someone didn't like the way she looked that day or whatever rationalization they picked and therefore had the right to seize it?

Constantinople is known by what name today?
Answer.

A friend pointed out this Organic Trade Association's Grocery Store Wars site that has a vegetable Star Wars spoof. I know it sounds weird but it is unbelievably well done. You really should go there now and watch it.

It reminds me a lot of a fan spoof that I saw somewhere a long time ago. I think maybe I actually saw that one on a cable movie channel. It was equally good. I don't remember the title or who made it, but I DO REMEMBER that R2D2 was played by a vacuum cleaner. *giggle* So if you've seen it also, I'm sure you'll remember the one I'm referring to and will agree how well made it was.

Well this new vegetable version is just as good. This time R2D2 is played by tofu! (Actually I thought it was cheese until I read bio details about the "actors".) And the site also has downloads of photos of all the "actors" and "movie posters" too! *giggle*

From what ingredient is hominy made?
Answer.

I haven't carried a long-term balance on any credit card since I paid off the most crooked credit card company in existence. In fact my credit card usage has mostly evolved into payments for occasional online purchases and rental cars during infrequent out of town trips.

It's too bad that more Americans can't say the same thing.

I really, really hate credit card companies. That one fraudulent company has soured me on the whole bunch. In my opinion, the whole credit industry has a bad effect on individuals. They reward credit slavery with a high credit score which is sometimes used to screen potential employees.

When you think about it; is that a good idea? Employers hire people who have gotten themselves into debt slavery rather than people who avoid credit cards!

It seems to me that an employer should prefer someone who hadn't fallen into a trap like that.

And make no mistake about it, if you have few credit cards/loans on your credit history, you have a LOWER score than someone with a lot of activity. Your credit score is an estimate by the credit industry of how good you are at being a slave. It's not a measure of how good you are at avoiding their traps.

How many times was the Roman Emperor Tiberius married?
Answer.

I had managed during that 18 months (of repaying the 401k loan) to repay about $500 of the principal still owed on the crooked credit card, so that the debt was now about $2500 and I hoped that my bank would loan me that much. Alas no, the request was turned down. When I obtained a copy of my credit report, I discovered that a debt collector had posted that I was in default on a medical bill that was not mine. ARGH! Just what I did not need.

It literally took months to get that debt collector to remove the mistake from my credit report. Don't believe all that hype about "challenging a mistake and getting it removed within 30 days". It doesn't necessarily happen that easily. It turns out that Equifax is not only a credit reporting bureau but they also operate as a debt collector in my home state.

Yeah, I think that's a conflict of interest, especially when asked to investigate the mistake all the credit bureau part did was ask the debt collector department "were you hired to collect this debt?" "Yes." "Then it must be valid."

Like I said, it took months. (The credit bureau part of Equifax only removed the item from *MY* credit history when the debt collection part of Equifax had successfully collected the sum from the one who really was responsible for paying the medical bill. If they hadn't been willing to pay, I'd have been stuck forever. AND it turned out that they had only failed to pay the sum BECAUSE the medical billing department who'd later hired Equifax debt collectors had neglected to ever send the correct people a bill for the medical services!)

Finally I was able to get the item (ie. failure to pay a medical bill) removed from my credit history. I also challenged a lot of old stuff on my credit history and got it removed. So all I had was the really, really bad info from that one crooked credit card company.

So at this point I applied to my credit union for a $2500 loan to pay off that credit card. Success, the loan was approved, I thought. Until I discovered that they would only make out the check to the credit card company.

ARGH. Not ONE check made out to that fraudulent company I protested. They'll "lose" it again. Then who has to repay the $2500? Will you collect it from THEM or will you expect ME to pay it. Either give me the the $2500 directly or no deal.

They wouldn't do that. *sigh*

After several phone calls to the manager of the credit union, I discovered the problem. Applying for a loan to repay a debt meant that the loan check was made out to the one who was owed the money. Not to the one who was borrowing the money.

That would work if *I* were the dishonest one. But I wasn't. That fraudulent credit card company was the crook. I refused to sign any loan that obligated me to repay something that I had not received especially when I had no control over how the money was paid to that crooked credit card company.

Finally I asked the manager if I could borrow $2500 for "a vacation". The manager promised to take it before their loan committee and THAT request was finally approved.

I borrowed $2500 for a vacation. (My idea of a vacation was clearly paying off the most crooked credit card company in existence.)

And I was able to make the payments using the same stealthy technique I described earlier, so that they did not realize what I was doing until too late.

I not only repaid the debt, I paid about $5 more so that they owed me that amount and had to send me the next few credit card statements showing the over payment.

And yes the credit union was quickly repaid via automatic deductions from my paycheck.

91. Name the three major USA credit bureaus. Answer.
92. John Cleese, a member of Monty Python, appeared in the first two Harry Potter movies. What role did he play? Answer.
93. What does the initials, ISP, refer to? Answer.
94. Capsaicin is often applied topically. Why? Answer.
95. Michael Palin starred in a documentary TV-series with the same title as a Jules Verne novel. What was it? Answer.
96. What is Rutin? Answer.
97. Which emperor of the ancient Roman empire was insane enough to appoint a horse to the Roman senate? Answer.
98. Ty Inc. marketed a line of toys that became a collector's item for adults. Name them? Answer.
99. Elizabeth Taylor is distantly related to the actress that portrayed Princess Leia in the original Star Wars movie. Explain how they are related. Answer.
100. Canada has sub-divisions similar to USA states (for example, Ontario, Alberta, etc). What are they called? Answer.
101. The musical group, The Byrds, recorded a song entitled "Turn! Turn! Turn! (There Is a Season)" that is reputed to have lyrics based on an unusual literary source (for a pop song). What is the book? Answer.
102. When mixing paint, what color do you darken to get brown? Answer.
103. Alfred E. Neuman has appeared on the cover of one magazine numerous times. Name the magazine. Answer.
104. Who wrote the classic books, "Three Men in a Boat (to Say Nothing of the Dog)" and "Three Men on the Bummel"? Answer.
105. One long running British TV-series (which has since been viewed internationally) debuted the same week as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Name the TV-series. Answer.

Previous Trivia Summary.

That fraudulent credit card company had already ruined my credit history. No other lender was going to advance me anything to pay off the bill. Of course that was what that credit card company wanted. They wanted me to be a slave to them forever paying and paying in a futile attempt to pay off an unmanageable debt. And falling deeper and deeper in debt each year.

Somehow I managed to pay off $3000 of that debt. I'm not sure how I did that nearly unimaginable feat. I know I applied all of my tax refund to the bill, but that wouldn't account for all of it. Anyhow that still left me $9000 in debt and still with that dishonest company.

Against the advice of others I secured a loan from the most honest lender available -- ME!!! I had opened an optional 401k sometime earlier and made some minimum contributions. My employer had as part of their personnel department someone who arranged loans from employees 401k plans and I took advantage of that service.

Their terms were strict, I couldn't borrow any employer payments and only half of my own contributions. That amounted to a maximum loan to me of $6000 dollars from myself. There were several really good things about that loan -- there was no credit check made; there was no lender approval process; no one could turn me down since it was my own money; at around 6% the interest rate was much lower than any normal lender would give; the loan was not reported to the credit bureaus; the payments were automatically deducted from my paycheck; and the best thing, in my opinion, all of the interest was paid to myself -- it all went back into my 401k account along with the principal portion of the payments.

My only regret was that the 401k didn't have enough money to pay off the credit card company completely. I had had some hope of being able to float enough of my rent check, utility bills and minimum checking account balance to cover the last $3000 before the first payment was taken from my paycheck; but at the last minute I chickened out. It would really have been a stretch and probably wouldn't have worked anyway. So for the duration of the 18 month loan from my 401k all I could do was repay that debt and continue with the minimum payments on the dishonest credit card.

At this point I should add that whenever I was paying off a huge chunk of that credit card bill, I employed my "stealth" strategy. That company had demonstrated that they could and WOULD claim not to have received a payment whenever they felt it was to their advantage. So making out one big payment for $6000 was absolutely the wrong thing to do. They'd "lose" it for sure.

Instead what I did was find an unused payment stub and made about a dozen photocopies of it. Then I proceeded to make out checks for $394 and $512 and $457 etc. Each check was for a unique sum and all were for much less than $1000. That way the processors would not notice any one payment. None were for a huge amount. And I could afford to lose one check out of the whole group. Then I mailed the payments one at a time. I'd phone their 800 number and see that each check had been received and processed before I mailed the next check. It took me something like two months to get all of those payments made stealthily.

I wrote earlier that I was able to finally pay off the WORST Most CROOKED Credit Card Company without their noticing what I was doing.

How did I do it?

Well first let me explain that I went from an initial debt of $1000 (to purchase a warranty for the replacement car after mine was stolen) to a debt of about $12000 in about five years. During that time I was still using that credit card for everyday purchases but with a balance, there was no "grace period" for interest on new purchases. With that and the occasional late payment penalty plus increases in the interest rate to the maximum allowed, this combined to create an almost annual doubling of the debt each year.

The monthly interest alone on that debt was well over $230. That was why I was in financial difficulty at the time that their employee caused the problems described in my earlier blog entry.

After that incident, I tried credit counseling organizations, but quickly discovered that they did not help someone in my situation. -- I didn't have multiple credit card debts. I had only ONE huge bill with a high interest rate. They were going to force me to stop using it (except I already had) and offer me counseling and a budget to curb my spending -- which wasn't exactly the problem.

Instead I had a dishonest credit card company levying huge interest and penalty charges against me each month.

My jerk of a brother, instead of offering help, said that the credit card company just wanted their money. I told him NO they have already collected more than the money they advanced to me, instead they wanted ALL OF MY MONEY -- FOREVER!

And I realized that I would have to get of the mess by myself. No one was going to help me.

40 million credit cards are now at risk thanks to mishandling by a credit card transactions processor. Yikes!

This has been a rough week for me. Even though it's a little cooler today, the weather forecasts predict that it will heat up again next week. *sigh* I REALLY, REALLY need to get my a/c looked at by someone. I simply do not think that it's working correctly as it's been providing little or no cooling as far as I can tell.

And as if the a/c problems weren't enough, this was the week that one of my co-workers came down with a bad case of the flu/bronchitis. So now I've been exposed to that while simultaneously we were both inundated with problems caused by summer employees. ARGH.

I fully expect to spend the upcoming weekend trying every home remedy available in an effort to avoid getting sick myself. *sigh*

I promised that I would explain about the WORST most CROOKED Credit Card company, so finally here is:

How can I explain what the WORST most CROOKED Credit Card company did to me?

Ummm, I got a phone call from one of their employees -- those annoying people who call to "remind" you that a payment is due. If you've never had one of these people phone you, count yourself lucky.

As it happened, I had already mailed the payment that the person was hassling me to send. In fact, I'd mailed it about a week before that fateful phone call.

Well these people DO NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING YOU SAY AND WORSE STILL THEY LIE THRU THEIR TEETH!

This one said the payment had not been received.

I said give it a little more time.

Whereupon this person insisted that enough time had already elapsed and that I needed to mail another payment.

Well I was struggling financially, and while I had had enough money to make the minimum payment to them, I did NOT have enough money to double the amount by paying again. So I told the person that if the payment I had already made were really missing, then I would have to stop payment on that check and make out a replacement check. (Which incidentally would have to be less than the amount of the first since there was a hefty stop payment fee to be paid now.)

The persons insisted that I needed to mail the second check.

I finally said, "OK, but do not deposit the first check, if it should show up, because it would bounce due to the stop payment order". I also added that I did not want them to hold me responsible for stopping payment since THEY were the ones insisting that the check was lost and that I needed to send another.

After the phone call ended, I did what I had said. I stopped payment on the first check and wrote another check for the original amount minus the stop check fee and mailed it overnight express from the post office.

Two days later the credit card company deposited the first check (against my orders) and of course it bounced.

And the credit card company added a penalty fee to what I already owed -- for giving them a "bad check".

And I got another phone call saying that I needed to send them a payment.

When I told them I'd express mailed the replacement payment, this person claimed that it hadn't been received.

ARGH.

A quick check with the post office verified that it had been delivered.

The credit card company still insisted that it had never been received.

True, they hadn't *YET* deposited the check, it was obvious that they were waiting
for me to stop payment on the second "lost" payment so that they could attach a
SECOND BAD CHECK PENALTY FEE!

This time I was smarter and refused to stop payment on the second check.

So they never deposited it. ... EVER.

After six months the check supposedly became no good (according to my bank). Not that I trusted that credit card company by that point.

In the intervening six months I had received several calls and when I had THEIR EMPLOYEES check with the post office, that person would shut up, only to be replaced by a new collection agent and the process would be repeated.

Of course I had made some other payments during that time too, but I never sent another replacement for those "lost checks" that they claimed they had never received. And of course they tacked on as many penalties and late charges as they could think of during that time as well as doing everything in their power to ruin my credit history. Nevermind that they had set off the whole problem in the first place.

But I had learned that they were the most dishonest lying credit card company in existence.

And I stopped using their credit card for new purchases.

Eventually I paid off the whole balance. (How I was able to fully pay it off without their noticing what I was doing, is another story for some other blog entry.)

Knowing that I'm a fan of the Roller Coaster Tycoon game, a friend pointed out this roller coaster amusement park for sale on eBay.

Please note that I do NOT recommend eBay for buying or selling anything.

However, it's not every day that you see the opportunity to become a roller coaster tycoon in REAL LIFE. *giggle*

There's one point that I disagree with from the other blog. And this is one that I had already discussed with a friend before reading that blog's comments.

In my opinion the reason (that Luke was their only hope and then in an exchange between Yoda and Obi Wan the comment "there is another" seems later to have referred to Darth Vader) that Leia was totally ignored as a "hope" in both cases is obvious.

Yes it's because Leia is female. Did you SEE any female Jedi Knights? No, of course not! That semi-monk-like group was male only. (Remember in this latest movie, Anakin couldn't even marry Padame because they'd kick him out of their monk-like order.)

Leia could NOT be a Jedi Knight, therefore she wasn't ever referred to as a "hope" like Luke and Darth Vader were.

Oops, I might have spoken too soon. Here's a blog that comments on Star Wars continuity and listing plot holes that I had missed -- probably owing to the fact that I saw each of the other sequels only once.

Today I went to see Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the movie was better than I'd expected.

Specifically, I was impressed by how the script tied up the continuity issues and showed exactly how Leia was a princess but Luke was raised by a family that was definitely not wealthy. It also provided a good explanation of why Anakin wound up in that awful black outfit that he sported as Darth Vader.

Perhaps the reason that I came away with a favorable impression of the latest Star Wars movie was BECAUSE I had had no expectations that I'd enjoy it. I can remember being disappointed when I first saw ET and realized later that it was probably because I had heard so much praise for the movie beforehand (not that ET was a bad movie, it just hadn't lived up to my inflated expectations).

This time my preconceived expectations of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith were almost nil. I literally wanted to see that movie to complete the set; ie. I had seen all the other Star Wars movies, therefore I had to see this last one too. My lack of expectations for this one were caused by the simple fact that except for the original Star Wars movie, I hadn't really liked any of the others.

Yes, I'm a big sci-fi fan but I'm a traditional one and not a member of the current crop of viewers who judge sci-fi only by the special effects. Traditionally sci-fi was judged, in my opinion, by the ideas presented. The original film had been innovative. The others had all paled by comparison and I really only viewed them because I had had some hopes that they'd be as good as the original. Alas, none were.

So by this time, I really had no expectations of this latest film, and I was pleasantly surprised to find it better than I had expected. Though it still wasn't as good as the original, I found myself thinking that it was better than any of the other sequels.

It is SO hot here! And I think that my air conditioning isn't working properly. ARGH!

I think I'll finally go to see the Star Wars movie tomorrow -- the movie theater at least will be nice and cool.

Someone has kidnapped a Dalek!

And Dr. Who #6 may wind up being a go-between for the Dalek's rescue. *giggle*

Via BoingBoing

From:CNET News.Com

Weirdly, the mainframe business shows no sign of declining, despite the low cost and high power of commodity PC hardware. However, many of the old mainframe jocks are dying or retiring, leaving mainframe-dependents businesses without enough techs. All those Y2K hackers who came out of retirement to fix the Big Iron might find themselves in a seller's market for their retirement years -- I can just see it now, AARP-members in mobile homes cruising America's highways, relaxing in campgrounds five days a week and then spending a couple days in some company's data-center beating the mainframes into submission.


Companies need to better understand how to compensate for diminishing mainframe skills. Systems that offer heterogeneous management across mixed environments can eliminate the complexities traditionally associated with managing the mainframe. That makes it possible to work across both mainframe and distributed environments, regardless of one's database knowledge.

But time is slipping away. We are at a critical junction, as mainframe talent is quickly disappearing. Converting data from these systems requires a significant amount of time and a substantial monetary commitment. Often, such conversion is just not a viable option.

WOW! You mean I have a whole future career available to me?

This is a bad recipe for vegetarian pizza. What's funniest about it, is to read the various comments insulting both the recipe and the cook.

In this article it says that Johnny Fox is closing a museum he'd founded in New York City due to the overwhelming cost of rent there.

What's interesting to me, is the brief glimpse it gives of his personal life. You see I *know* Johnny Fox. Well sorts know him. I know who he is (one of 20 or so professional sword swallowers in this country) and have seen him in person many times, even speaking to him once, I seem to recall.

He has regularly performed at the Maryland Renaissance Festival over the course of the several years, that I have been a regular attendee. So this is one semi-celebrity with whom I feel I have some slight acquaintance.

Of course he doesn't know me; certainly not by name. Some of the other festival performers DO greet me by name, however, and no doubt Mr. Fox would have more incentive, if I were fonder of Swordswallowing. (My favorites tend to be an escape artist and a team that reclines on a bed of nails while audience members STAND UPON them.)

Still I acknowledge that a certain amount of skill is involved in swallowing swords without slicing ones innards. And he performs this amazing feat before a live crowd (surviving do it again and again).

Via http://www.boingboing.net/

Yesterday, it was announced that Spamalot has won three Tony awards.

"Monty Python's Spamalot," an irreverent romp inspired by the British troupe's film, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," took the prize for best musical, as well as for director Mike Nichols and featured actress Sara Ramirez, who portrays the divalike Lady in the Lake in the zany spoof.

And I had passed up a chance to get one of those special commenorative Spamalot cans of SPAM from Hormel. ARGH!

There's more than one kind of credit fraud. Yeah, identity thieves have become a real problem in this country. But actually what I am thinking of in this post is another type of credit fraud.

Today I noticed the cost of one of those "Credit Watch" services offered by a credit reporting agency. It was $100. a year.

Let me get this straight; I pay them $100. a year to try and keep them from causing the kind of mistakes that they shouldn't be making in the first place -- like selling consumer's credit info to ChoicePoint.

Yeah, Right....

76. What is pycnogenol? Answer.
77. What did the stars of the TV-series Gunsmoke and Mission Impossible have in common? Answer.
78. Although sometimes other planets are suggested, nine planets are the conventional number accepted as being in our solar system. Name them (in correct order). Answer.
79. PBS made a very fine TV-movie in 1980 from the book, The Lathe of Heaven (a 2002 movie remake is generally judged inferior). Who is the author of the book, The Lathe of Heaven? Answer.
80. Singer Neil Diamond attended college on a rather unusual sports scholarship. What was the sport? Answer.
81. FORTRAN is one of the oldest computer languages. It's name is the contraction of two words. What are they? Answer.
82. Diane Mott Davidson and Joanne Fluke are both writers. Besides their books being murder mysteries, they both have another feature that is rather uncommon. What is unusual about the novels written by these two authors? Answer.
83. Coca-Cola in its original formulation contained a substance that although perfectly legal THEN is definitely quite illegal NOW. What was the substance? Answer.
84. Orville Redenbacher (Popcorn King), Jimmy Hoffa (missing Union Leader), and Charles B. Hall (Tuskegee Airman) share something in common. What is it? Answer.
85. Joanne Kathleen Rowling has written a series of hugely popular novels. Name them (in correct order). Answer.
86. Which vitamin is nicknamed, the sunshine vitamin, because the human body makes it when exposed to the sun's rays? Answer.
87. Who wrote the theme music for the Pink Panther? Answer.
88. A polygraph (lie detector) uses various measurements (such as heart rate, Galvanic skin resistance, etc.) obtained by sensors attached to the person. For health reasons a person may also be attached to a different device but with similar sensors that detect Galvanic skin resistance (ie. skin conductivity), muscle tension, heart rate, etc. What is this called when done for medical reasons? Answer.
89. Boxing Day is a holiday observed in the UK and much of the British Commonwealth that, despite it's name, has nothing to do with prizefighting. When is Boxing Day celebrated? Answer.
90. How many children did President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor
have? Answer.

Previous Trivia Summary.

Now "Real Life" is imitating Dr. Who!

As Atrios notes in his blog, this scientist's announcement sounds like an episode of the long-running British TV-series, Dr. Who.

Yup, I'm still enjoying the FREEDOM of not having to watch any series on TV on Fridays. I perused the TV listing and passed on the Joan of Arcadia offering tonight.

I celebrated by taking a nap instead.

ARGH, I am so boring. *giggle*

And I was reading a few other blogs (after I woke up) and noticed the word, dressage on Zoe's blog. Not that she's all fancy and stuck-up (cause she's not) -- although she is European. No, the reference came from one of her guest bloggers.

It's just that it struck me, how many Americans even KNOW what that word means?

Well, okay, maybe I led an impoverished childhood (not especially) or am backwards (not really), but only ONCE before in my life has anyone ever used that word in front of me. And I had had to ask the person perpetuating that crime *exactly* what the word meant....

Well at least this time (thanks to the other occasion) I knew what the word means.

But still, isn't it odd that to some people the word is ho-hum practically in everyday use. And to others it's heard only once in a lifetime.

Dressage -- refers to show horses -- sorta like a dog or cat show only they put the horses thru an examination. No wait, THAT STILL sounds like a dog or cat show.

Stuck-up horse-nutty people have to have a fancy word for a horse show....

I must be younger than I thought. Here's another one of those "Do you Remember?" websites, but I remember less than half of these things....

A significant number of my blog's viewers are other bloggers. Unfortunately whenever I make a reciprocal visit to THEIR blogs, all too often I find a page that has small type against a black background. UGH.

Climbing on my soapbox: Blogs are web pages. And there are RULES for web page usability. (Trust me, I know about this, once upon a time I even attended a class on the subject of web page usability.)

One of the most obvious rules is: DON'T MAKE your web page difficult to read by using small type and/or a low contrast color against a black background.

Please!