Advanced Calculation
Here's an interesting mathematical equation that someone sent me the other day:
Pick up a calculator and consecutively enter the numbers of your birthday.
Add 754.
Subtract 753.
Add 1.
Now, divide this number by yesterday's date and add 59 to the total.
Subtract 59.
Add the number of fingers on your right hand.
Subtract the number of toes on your left foot.
Divide this by any number between one and ten.
Is the number you came up with your age? No? Dang. Oh well. It didn't work for me either but if it had it would have been pretty cool, wouldn't it?
Time-out Anyone?
I once heard a comedian comment that a kid will never respond positively when given an option for severe punishment. In other words, when you say to a child, "Do you want a spanking," the child will never say yes. Asking a child if they want to be punished does seem rather silly but, as a parent myself, I find myself repeating the things I heard as a child and I have found that my child reacts much in the same way that I did.
"Do you want to go to time-out?" This question provokes a resounding response of "No." This is the point where things might get confusing to a child due to the parental response to the child's response. "Well obviously you do or you wouldn't be misbehaving." This is the point where the child might wonder about the intelligence of the parent. The child is thinking, "Actually, I want to get away with what I'm doing without going to time-out. Do you think I would have stopped if I hadn't been caught?"
Sometimes a child might even produce a few tears. "Do you want me to really give you something to cry about?"
The child is thinking, " Look buster, I've already been caught and I am really crying. Evidentially, my thinking is that this is something to cry about."
Then there are those times where the parent will go off on a tirade where every conceivable explanation regarding the inappropriate behavior is thrown at the child. The filibuster is sometimes followed with a question. For the sake of example, I'll use the question, "Do you want to go to time-out?" The child will say no but is actually thinking, Yes, if it will get you to stop talking."
When one is faced with the knowledge that they are going to be a parent, the thought that "things will be different than they were for me when I grew up," passes through the mind. It is normal to think this way. I'm sure when my kid is about to have his first kid, he will think the same thing and he'll keep thinking it until the day he says, "Do you want to go to time-out?"
Why My Name?
So, I get an email from this guy that says, "You have used my name w/o my permission in your story about Henry and Sylvia and the ducks and donuts, etc. Where did you get my name and why have you used it w/o my authorization?"
My response was, "Firstly, the name was submitted via a form when a visitor added a part to the Tandem Story. That story has been closed and is no longer accepting submissions but is open to public view. The current Tandem Story is accepting submissions. It would be my guess that a person with the same name as yourself made the submission and willingly submitted his own name, thus, he would not need your authorization to use his own name."
The guy's response to this was, "I was being facetious in suggesting you used my name w/o my authorization. I really don't care as I am a little known entity and it is doubtful that my name would ever surface as having been seen on your pages. It was frankly just a shock to see someone's name that I have come to recognize for these many years. I would, however, be very interested in having you provide me with additional evidence and proof of how you came into possession of my handle. I love a mystery but love even more the conclusion!"
Okay, so the guys not mad; he's just playing around. I did a search for the guy's name and found his email address on a police web site. It turns out that the reason this guy likes a mystery is because he is a retired California Highway Partolman. My response:
"As to the mystery of how your name came to be on my site, my best conclusion would be, as I stated earlier, that there is another person who possesses the same name as you somewhere in this vast world that submitted his part to the story and signed his own name. However, I have thought of a few other possibilities including:
Identity thieves on a perpetual story submission rampage,
A spurned highway patrol partner,
Aliens,
Your next door neighbor, still angry because you never let him play with the siren on your patrol car,
The crazed DUI convict who just had to get back at you,
Little did your kids know that one day dad would find out about their
Internet usage,
It was a gypsy terrorist plot,
The guy who never did as well as you on the shooting range,
Michael Jackson did it,
The ex-girlfriend, still angry because, "the handcuffs are for official use only,"
That crazy practical joker, Eric Estrada,and the number one theory...
It was the one armed man.
In reality, I have no clue who signed the entry but please feel free to peruse my site as much as you would like. Your investigation is welcome. I frequently add stories so hopefully I will be able to provide clues in my writing or at least, keep you reading and entertained.
Best regards,
Robeo"
The Best Part
My wife and I took our five-year-old son to the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences one weekend. I must say that the museum is quite impressive. We started out by listening to one of the museum employees talk about snakes as she showed us actual live examples. My son was fascinated by the reptiles and was fearless when he got the chance to touch the live snakes.
On the first floor of the museum we observed several sets of huge and very impressive whale skeletons hanging from the ceiling. Moving to the second floor via and escalator, we were able to observe the skeletons from above. Several other interesting exhibits encompasses the second floor including an area that showed natural looking areas with wildlife and foliage that spanned from the "Mountains to the Sea." Next was the escalator to the third floor.
The third floor has a great overlook of the "Mountains to the Sea" area but also houses my favorite exhibit, "Prehistoric North Carolina." Several dinosaur fossils and recreations are there including a huge fossil of a prehistoric ground sloth. The "Terror of the South" section houses the only Acrocanthosaurus fossil in the world. There is also the terribly interesting "Mountain Cove" area and the "Tropical Connections" area to boot. Onward now to the fourth floor via the trusty escalator.
The fourth floor has a very nice overlook of the "Terror of the South" as well as the "Naturalist Center." Here one can observe, up close and personal, many preserved species of animals. Most of the specimens are quite old which adds a little mystic to the exhibit.
Arriving via escalator to the first floor, we naturally had to take a tour of the gift shop. We bought our son a few items before ending our afternoon adventure and began the trip home.
My favorite parts of the museum were the whale skeletons and the dinosaur fossils. I asked my son what his favorite part was and he thought hard before he giving answer. His reply; "The best part was the escalator."
It's good to know that he got something out of the experience.
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
