Rant Time

 It's been a long time since I vented in a post so I'm overdue. The objects of my displeasure are twofold, first my local Freddy's has been price gouging since the pandemic to the extent that I've taken to ordering several things online, why should I pay $5 more for an item when I can have it delivered to my door? That brings me to part two of my rant...I'm not a huge fan of Amazon mainly because they don't seem like they are very good to their employees, though they treat the customers well and I end up ordering a lot from them because it is cut and dried, you place your order they send a confirmation, then another email when the item ships, easy peasy. Not so with many online businesses, for instance yesterday I got an email saying it was time for my automatic order of my laundry squares to ship, before the end of the day I had received a total of 6 emails detailing every hand the order had passed through. Really??? Do I need to know they are getting ready to ship it and all the minutia?  I certainly don't think so. Then there's the goat's milk soap people who I finally had to unsubscribe from because of multiple emails everyday hawking more stuff, so they think I'm not capable of reaching out if I need something else? Okay, end of rant. 

 

Giving the Finger

 Most everyone has heard about thumb wrestling but what about finger wrestling? AKA Fingerhakeln it is a sport practiced in several areas in Europe but the main action takes place in Bavaria where the championships are held. This year 150 men gathered in a big beer tent and drank beer and ate sausages between events. The sport originated as a way to settle disputes, two contestants sit on opposite sides of a table and hook their middle fingers through a leather loop and try to pull their competitor across the table. The winner goes on to the next round. Beer and sausages sound good. 

Variety

 Eggo has released 5 new waffle flavors that are now in stores nationwide, has anyone ever stopped to wonder what items go missing from the freezer section when their space is invaded? Of course the stores keep growing until a person nearly needs to bring a lunch to complete their grocery shopping, and how many types of frozen waffles does the world need? couldn't a person add their favorite ingredients to a regular waffle and call it good? Along with the new flavors, Chocolate Chip Brownie, Strawberry Delight (both are being called fully loaded as they contain 10 grams of protein), Cinnamon Churro, Dark Chocolate Chip Thick and Fluffy and Belgian Style Street Waffles they are also offering sneakers for $150 styled from the two fully loaded varieties. Too much stuff! 

Writing vs Typing

 Researchers have been at it again, this time the focus was handwritten (both cursive and printed) work is actually better than typing. Okay I'm betting there are those of you making disclaimers about your handwriting being so bad there is no way it could be better but you'd be wrong. The part of the brain that it takes to coordinate your fingers into making the different letters and holding the writing implement is also associated with the learning part of your brain, so as you write you remember what you're writing where with typing you would probably be able to record an entire lecture word for word but not remember any of it when you were done. I know this is true for me but never knew why until the good ol' researchers presented their findings. 

Flowers and Stuff

 With a nod to Mother's Day I present the world's smallest flower...Watermeal, aka Wolffia. To see the flower a person would need a microscope since it's 1/42 of an inch long and 1/85 of an inch wide. Without magnification it looks like algae. The second part of today's post is that the very woman who fought to make Mother's Day a holiday spent the last years of her life trying to have it abolished as the essence of the holiday was lost in the commercialization, as is true of most holidays. 

Still Good For a Laugh

 Even though it is too late to order these items for Mother's Day you can still entertain your Mom by showing her the selections. 

Weed Waffle Maker 

Make hummingbirds and butterflies appear with an augmented reality bracelet 

Robotic lawn mower (maybe a better Dad's Day gift?)

Flask for wine with two cups

Cannabis perfume

Asleep at the Wheel

 Mother's Day snuck on me this year though I found these gifts for the occasion in the nick of time. 

Portable power station, air compressor, jump starter

Fat/pregnant body candles

Cane with built in flask 

Between legs mirror 

Claw hose holder

Speed Demons?

 In a surprising turn of events the fast muscle cars of our past have been replaced with imports, at least when it comes to getting speeding tickets. With that thought in mind you might be thinking of Ferrari or another of the high dollar imports capable of 200 mph but that isn't the case. According to an insurance company study the top ten cars with the most speeding tickets are 1. Nissan's Infiniti 2. Toyota's Scion 3. Volkswagen 4. Subaru 5. Mazda 6. Audi 7. Kia 8. Honda 9.&10. was a tie between BMW and Hyundai. Least ticketed for speeding 1. Cadillac 2. Tesla and 3. Volvo. The message here seems to be buy American!

History Repeats

 In the 16th and 17th centuries pineapples were a status symbol. They were mainly used for display purposes and were carted around to several events before they eventually rotted. Fast forward to today...Del Monte has developed a luxury, designer Rubyglow pineapple which can be yours for $395.99! It comes in an origami type box, but seriously instead of making designer fruit for the few shouldn't they be figuring out ways to make enough fruit to feed the hungry? Oh well. If you don't want to shell out 400 bills for a Rubyglow you can get Mini Honeyglow, a personal sized sweeter than most for $11.79, or a Pinkglow pineapple for $29 with flesh colored like deli ham. If none of those fit your taste and or budget regular or gold pineapples can still be had without selling your firstborn. 

 

The Thing With the Weather

 There are so many weather related sayings it's hard to keep track though the "April showers bring May Flowers" has been around since the 16th century and as with most sayings about weather it is less than factual. Depending on location April is rarely the wettest month, on average it is the 5th wettest with the wettest month belonging to June in the US. According to 30 years of data from 8,535 National Climatic Data Centers 2,053 reported June as the wettest month leaving April with only 76 reporting it as wettest. Not only is June the wettest in the contiguous US according to calculations June 7th is the wettest day overall. 

Pony Up

 Actually there's no charge to visit the ponies at Ponyhenge though there are plenty of visitors of all ages. It all started when the owners of the property put the first pony out to pasture with the thought that since they no longer had children to enjoy the pony that maybe other kids could stop by and use it. They were right in a big way, neighbors started dropping off more ponies until the field resembled a pony show of sorts, plus it has also been used as a destination wedding venue and now they are a tourist attraction about 20 miles outside of Boston. They change configuration on an almost daily basis and once they get too tired looking they are culled from the herd and sadly retired to the local dump. 

Meaning of Life Part II

After seeing a man vacuuming the back of his SUV out and thinking he was probably getting rid of evidence of something nefarious it occurred to me that perhaps I should change my reading material more often. With that said let's get on with Part II of the foreign  phrases unique to their languages. 

From Persian hava do nafaras= The weather is for two people, a good day for a walk in the cold. 

From Scottish hurkle durkle= Lounging in bed when you have things you should be doing. 

From French flaneur flaneuse=Strolling/wandering idly looking for glimmers. 

From Japanese ichi-go ichi-e=For this time only, once in a lifetime. Taking time for the sights, sounds and smells throughout the day as they will never be replicated.  

From Spanish apapachar=The act of embracing someone with your soul. 

From Italian dolce far niente=The sweetness of doing nothing. 

From Norwegian friluftsliv=Leave no trace (while exploring outdoors). 

From Korean inyeon=A bond between two people over the course of their lives, past and future. 

Meaning of Life Part I

 No post yesterday as the internet was down from 12:00- 4:30 which was bad enough but I kept getting robo calls telling me they were working on it. Without further ado I present some foreign words/phrases that English has no words for. 

From Lebanese/Arabic soubhiye= That quiet time when you're the only one up and you can enjoy your coffee before the day starts. 

From Swedish fika=The concept of taking time for yourself with a break for coffee and pastry. 

From Greek meraki=Putting your soul and passion into whatever you're doing.

From Polish jakos to bedzie=Trying something new, things will work out in the end. 

From Finnish sielunmaisema=A landscape you carry in your heart that feels like home. 

From Italian la passeggiata=A ritual stroll with no destination. 

From Norwegian utepils=Going outside to enjoy a beer. (Norway is dark and cold most of the year.)

From Spanish sobremesa=The special time after meals when everyone lingers to socialize. 

Fascinators/ Hatinators

 For those of us not up on our millinery terms today's title is what two types of hats are called that are popular for the Kentucky Derby. The fascinator is a type of headwear that fastens to the head with a band or clip, it offers no protection from the elements and covers very little of the head. The hatinator also fastens with a band but looks more like a hat. According to one milliner, "When you wear an elegant hat, you carry yourself differently. You walk with confidence and energy." That might be true for those who wear hats often but those who don't look more like they have a stiff neck.