Desperate gambles

I was always fascinated by people who bet their last dollar and won big. I remember sitting at gaming tables while people play with their rent money in desperate all-or-nothing gambles.

I remember one young lady who was down to her last few bucks, crying and heartbroken that she has squandered her rent money. We all chipped-in so she could play one last round, and she hit, winning back her $400.

Her response? Let it ride! Some people never learn . . . .

Remember Fred Smith, the MBA student who got a C- on his idea for FedEx?

Fred bet all he had to make payroll and won $27k, what a story!

FedEx chainman bets the bank to make payroll



Now, I see this story about Larry King winning $8k on a $40 bet, back in 1`971 when he was down on his luck.

Larry King bets Big in 1971
Evidently Larry was arrested that year (1971), and here is his mug shot:


In 1971, Larry King was arrested for grand larceny

The friend magnet

Whenever I’m counseling shy people on how to meet people, I recommend using cute baby animals (kittens, puppies, toddlers) but there is also the “friend magnets”!

All you need to do is place the magnet inside a paper grocery bag or a purse and stick it to your car roof.

As you drive around, people will think that you forgot to put your purse of bag inside the car and folks will honk, point, wave at you and act real friendly!

You will meet lots of people, I guarantee it.

Study suggests that dogs have morals

This study suggests that dogs have morals! Not scientific, but a fun read.

Interesting, this argument that dogs have morality

Designing intelligent logos with subliminal messages

I remember enjoying my marketing classes in MBA school, and how much fun it was to learn how important the shape and color are for corporate logos.

Check out this page, intelligent logo designs, mighty interesting . . .

When my friend learned that I was in graduate school, they would chide me “So, say something intelligent”, and I would always respond with “Ontology recapitulates phylogeny” or my all-time favorite, “tachistoscopic episcotisters enable subliminal perception”.

It’s pronounced “tack-ist-oh-scop-ic e-piss-ca-tist-er”.

Try saying “tachistoscopic episcotister” real fast, three times, it’s great fun!

Actually, a tachistoscopic episcotister is quite real.

It’s a super-fast shutter that flashes images very fast, right at the edge of perception, and a tachistoscopic episcotister is used in important psychological research on human perception.

Remember the Psychology studies that led to the legend of widespread subliminal perception, like inserting a “Coca Cola” ad every 10th frame in a movie, and witnessing thirsty customers buying Cokes at the snack bar?

The reality is a bit more subtle. Just as bored GI’s noticed the naked lady in the Camel cigarette logo, people strive to place hidden messages in logos. But as Sigmund Fraud one said, “Sometimes a train is just a train”, and horny guys will always invent sexual images inside ambiguous logos:



Consider this one, with a hidden arrow inside:



Upon close inspection, do you see the “arrow” that is formed between the X and the E?
Also, this one is cleaver, showing the outline of Australia:



Does this type of subliminal message in a logo really work?

Well, here we are, talking about it!

A pet duck for our dog

We recently had three ducks join us at the ranch; at least I think that they are ducks.



Alexander the Swoose was half swan and half goose, but these ain’t mallards!

They appear to be the product of some unholy union between ducks, vultures and turkeys.

Anyhow, all heck broke loose last night!

Pet ducks for dogs!

Well, last night one of the ducks was in the back yard when we let the Rottweiler’s out. Feathers went flying, everywhere, as Bear, mother to every living critter, snatched up a duck gently by his neck!


Rotties are very motherly - They will even nurse kittens!

The duck went limp, from shock, no doubt, and we thought he might have died from fear!



Little did this refugee from a fricassee know at the time, but Bear has huge maternal instincts, and she just wanted to lick it and love it! Sho’ nuff, she took the startled duck to her kennel, pinned it down and started licking the shocked duck it all over!


Evidently, ducks don't like to be licked by large dogs

Now, we don’t allow our pets to have pets, but Bear was not gonna turn lose of this Duck easy! She loved it, and started growling “My Duck” when Janet commanded “Leave it!”.

We had to get out the whip, and Bear finally turned the poor ole duck loose!

I gonna guess that we won’t be seeing those ducks in the backyard again anytime soon!

Oklahoma - we did it anyway!

We did it anyway

Interesting propaganda from the far right:

An Update From Oklahoma..

The state law passed, 37 to 9 (had a few liberals in the mix), an amendment to place the Ten Commandments on the front entrance to the state capitol. The feds in D.C., along with the ACLU, said it would be a mistake. Hey this is a conservative state, basedon Christian values...!

Guess what...........We did it anyway.

We recently passed a law in the state to incarcerate all illegal immigrants, and ship them back to where they came from, unless they want to get a green card and become an American citizen. They all scattered. Hope we didn't send any of them to your state. This was against the advice of the Federal Government, and the ACLU, they said it would be a mistake.

Guess what..........we did it anyway..

Yesterday we passed a law to include DNA samples from any and all illegals to the Oklahoma database, for criminal investigative purposes. Pelosi said it was unconstitutional. Guess what.........We did it anyway. Several weeks ago, we passed a law, declaring Oklahoma as a Sovereign state, not under the Federal Government directives. That, for your information, makes Oklahoma and Texas the only states to do so.

Guess what.........More states are likely to follow. Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, both Carolina's, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, West Virginia, just to name a few. Should Mississippi act, so will Florida.

Funny product names

Foreigners are funny people and they have some hilarious product names. . . .



Check out these funny product names

I like this one, both Linux and Microsoft, all in some foreign grocery store:

Some of my best friends are black!

Offered for your viewing pleasure:

Black people love us

"Some of my best friends are black"

Now THAT's a salient parody . . . .

American regional identity is shifting!

I always enjoyed sociology classes and understanding regional identity in America.

Even in the 1960’s there were still pockets of ethnic groups in America, the Swedes of Kansas, the Germans of Wisconsin, the Cherokee of North Carolina, and dozens of others niches where people retained their cultural identity wel into the 20th century . . .

But as time passes, regional identities are being lost at a rapid rate.

This fascinating chart notes now people identified themselves in the 2000 census, very interesting.



The most interesting part is that many people of early British and Irish descent identified themselves solely as “American”, as-if they have been completely assimilated:

And let’s not forget the “belts”. Everyone knows about the Bible belt, the rust belt and the corn belt, but the “scum belt” is a new one:

The American scum belt

Face Transplant photos

Here is a great story with photos of face transplants!