Thursday, October 18, 2012

a spark of a fragment

Now a spark of genius comes across better than sparky fragments but it's time to collect Friday Fragments.  Fragments don't need to be genius but they should be genuine. Go see Mrs. 4444's blog to learn more about Friday Fragments (FF).

Mommy's Idea


no job but I have an app for that - 
Most of the panhandlers I come into contact with these days are over the phone calling themselves charities. Lisleman prediction - In a few years you’ll find panhandling apps used on the streets. Point your smartphone at the panhandler’s QR symbol and a donation will be made directly to their paypal account.


lions, tornadoes, and bears oh my - 
I took two of the grandkids on short excursion to a nearby college last weekend. They have a free, interesting small nature museum. The collection ranges from beetles to dinosaur bones and includes one huge polar bear.

My 4yr old granddaughter was scared by the these big teeth animals. As we left the museum, we all got a scare.  As we were walking over to an attached building we greeted by two very serious staff members telling us to evacuate to the basement tornado shelter. After a few quick cellphone calls home we did. Their prompt and planned response to the threat was good but after locating ourselves on the basement floor I was disappointed that no one down there knew what was going on above ground. Of course, deep in the building I had lost cellphone coverage so I was unable to check myself. After 20 minutes or so I decided we would get to the ground floor and see if it was clear and safe. It was. No tornado had touched down in the area.


price for a spark - 
Not only was the total cost of spark plug replacement in our Camry surprising high, but also surprising was the type of spark plug used. The engine is now purring with fresh Laser Iridium spark plugs. (BTW the labor is the prime cost factor)

Having the knowledge of the world accessible via my keyboard queries, I went researching this sparky plug. First off, the laser part of the description just means the parts are laser welded. There are no lasers firing off in my engine.

But the metal Iridium part connects my spark plugs to the dinosaurs. A quick wikipedia read will teach you that Iridium is very rare. Much rarer that gold or silver. Iridium is relatively common in meteorites and that fact connects my spark plug to dinosaurs.

The Alvarez impact hypothesis claims that the dinosaurs extinction was the result of a huge asteroid impact 65 million years ago. The sedimentary layers containing a high concentration of Iridium discovered around the world forms the basis of this idea. So the Iridium in my spark plugs may have arrived here on the rock that blasted the atmosphere and wiped out those monstrous reptiles. 



One last spark fragment - (from the “Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys”
... 
The percentage you're paying is too high priced 
While you're living beyond all your means 
And the man in the suit has just bought a new car 
From the profit he's made on your dreams 
But today you just read that the man was shot dead 
By a gun that didn't make any noise 
But it wasn't the bullet that laid him to rest was 
The low spark of high-heeled boys 
... 

Here’s a link to that 11 minute plus song on youtube.

(proofreading provided by C. F. Eyecare)

17 comments:

Tami said...

That is a HUGE scare being ushered into a basement without knowing what was going on.
Iridium sounds like something my son should be learning this year in chemistry class. He had to do a report on Tungsten. (something like that anyway). This element is rare and used to make drill bits and other similar heavy metals. How's that for a chemistry lesson? ;-)

lisleman said...

The bigger scare was alerting my family at home (within walking distance of the place I was) of the warning. Luckily it was only a warning based on conditions but my wife didn't know about when I called.
Tungsten is big in the aerospace industry but it also shows up in consumer items. thanks

Bearman Cartoons said...

That is a genius idea about the QR code and panhandlers. Sorry no change won't be a good excuse anymore.

lisleman said...

Genius for them I guess. You are right but I would just say sorry no change and no smartphone. thanks

jnoragon said...

An interesting dilemma. Safe in the cellar and no ability to hear the all clear. A conundrum, actually. We need an app for that, too.

lisleman said...

I would not call it a cellar since there were classrooms and restrooms down there. There was a phone on the wall so had I not just gone up one floor I would have called someone. thanks

Laurie Matherne said...

Did the grandchildren see the most interesting animal exhibits at the school? Post adolescents? They are a unique species that live parasitically on parental support and delight in strange behavior and dress. Sorry about the scare for the young'uns.

Kathy said...

I have very little tolerance for pan handling. If they can stand on a corner all day they can say do you want fries with that! Have a wonderful weekend!

lisleman said...

I don't care for panhandling and wish it didn't take place. It seems to be in most every city. I don't really know but suspect many have addiction problems. I would not want some of them serving me any food. thanks

lisleman said...

Yes we met a few of the post adolescent alien types. I had hoped they would be more helpful. I wonder if they are becoming too zombie like.

Keetha Broyles said...

Wait - - - I mentioned high heels on boys today too, are we beginning to think alike???? SCARY

longhollow said...

I loved taking my kids to museums and look forward to taking my grandkids. FUN! (Now I'm going to have that song stuck in my head!!)

lisleman said...

I believe museums have gotten better at attracting kids. Wow that's a long song to have stuck in your head - what do you have lots of room up there? - just kidding I just didn't want to pass on that one

Ann Javoroski said...

Mobile phones do present a whole new set of communication problems, don't they? The more ways there are to get in touch with my kids, the tougher it seems to get. Not that I'm a "Why Don't You Call?" mom, but once in a while I have important information to share. Twice a year.

unknownmami said...

So I am not the only one driving a dinosaur?

lisleman said...

The way I understand it those dinosaurs gave their lives for our oil. Our car has a number of years on it but not having car payments is better than a new car with payments. Old dino is paid for.
thanks

lisleman said...

Threaten them with blogging about them. Yeah twice a year is not being very demanding. thanks

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