Next Sunday

It must be getting early, clocks are running late.

You’ll be able to say that this coming Sunday morning. The clock will be running 1 hour late. It’s that unnecessary time change again. Ok, some may disagree but IMHO we would all be better off to just leave time set to the standard time and not try to save daylight. Hey what about saving the night?

Really I like the fall change back since I get an extra hour of sleep. Actually they owe us that hour because they stole it from us back in the spring.

Sleeping is my best habit and overall I would rather they not mess with the clock twice a year. These changes must mess with insomniacs more than me.

The grateful helped me out with this post. The Grateful Dead starts their song “A Touch of Grey” with the line about clocks running late.

I’ve mentioned this before in a post back in 2016. Here’s a link to that post. (check it out you'll have an extra hour soon)

Sorry that you feel that way, the only thing there is to say
Every silver lining's got a touch of grey

Oh well, a touch of grey kinda suits you anyway
And that was all I had to say and it's alright

turn back time

If I could turn back time, I would write down more of what I experienced so that I'd remember it better today.

Imagine going too far back. For example, an era before electricity was widely available. I don't think I could adjust. No reason to go back further than the introduction of the common kitchen microwave oven.

don't go back to OZ in the winter

Those great moment-in-time pictures offer an easy way to go back in time.

Do you use your blog to go back in time?

I do.

I have used youtube to store a few memories too. 

Back in 2008, I went to the Red Bull (I don't drink the stuff) Flugtag in Chicago. Lots of fun. Remembering this, I wondered if the Flugtag events continued. Yes they did but not as often. Nashville TN. hosted one in 2017. All these digital memories will change retirement in the future (assuming the files don't get lost or formats stop playing).

I took some pictures and a little bit of video. Then I mixed them together with a real corny old song I found.





Here's the song that gave me the post title.




Give it a shot. Finish this sentence, "If I could turn back time...".

Yeah and then there is this

If my posting trend continues, it won’t be long until I’m posting once a year. A lot can happen in a year but then again not much can happen too.

DIY Sir Fartalot

Of course there is the quantity vs. quality debate. Fakebook certainly goes towards the quantity side. Twitter is probably even worse but I’m not on twitter.

I started to write, “stopping time” as a blog recording idea, but no. Time stopped could indicate you’re dead. Capturing time is a better description. Technically, I guess capturing the essence a moment or memory is what happens. In the not too distant past the capturing took the form of letters/notes/diaries. My blog provides a method of capturing time for me and hopefully future others.

Many of my posts are not memorable events but rather thoughts that churned in my brain long enough to be written down. Having watched a Ken Burns documentary or two, I know that a person’s thoughts can be the best way to convey the essence of a moment in time.

I certainly don’t consider this blog historical significant. However, I do wonder will some future bot will scan and digest large volumes of postings to get a sense of historical events, social movements or just daily life in the past.

Emergency cabinet at a great store for odd stuff

Then there is this -
Deputy Cows helped chased down a suspected car thief in Florida recently. (IMHO, I think FL has the most dumb criminals in the nation)

It’s becoming a habit

(Notice - This blog is rated M for Mature. Annoyances such as, aches, sore muscles, the world going to hell, my body going to hell, why hell doesn’t exist so who cares, the weather, the dentist, ear hair, and other things I can’t seem to remember now but still piss me off, will often appear in postings.)

I like the slower lanes

While we are creatures of habit, we are also creatures that adapt to changes.

But when does an adaption become a new habit?

I didn’t see this coming. I’ve noticed a new habit forming routine - reminiscing and comparisons between the present and past events. Occasionally I ponder the future but not as much as years ago.

I realized many years ago that you can't drive very far just using the rear view mirror. (a post about that) I'm not sure why I seem to focus on the past more and more.

What’s the relevance of my rear view gaze? I don’t know but often I feel irrelevant. Retirement has the unwanted side effect of reduced relevance IMHO.

Slightly off the subject of these slightly off feelings - I believe people seek relevance on FB and Twitter. Maybe I even did with this blog long ago. The social media services are useful for sharing but they plenty of wasteful and sometimes dangerous aspects too. Any and all tools can be misused.

Blogging became a relevant hobby for me.

Our village hired a troll as a guard

I’m finishing up reading, “The Order of Time” by Carlo Rovelli (Italian theoretical physicist). I don’t know if a category philosophical physics exists but I categorize it as that. Now you might know or sorta recall that this Einstein guy revolutionized physics with his spacetime concept. This book explains how time in the spacetime of relativity changes and also how time doesn’t even exist at the fundamental quantum level.

I’ve mused about time in other previous posts. (notice if I had written “future” instead of “previous” the prior sentence would be considered nonsense - why is that?) Carlo elaborates on the idea that many physical interactions are time reversible. This time thing emerges because of heat and entropy. (here’s one of my related posts - take your time it’s about time)

Recently, a local PBS station was playing the show, “A Cat’s Attic Yusuf Cat Stevens”. It was part of a fundraising drive so it played a few times. Yusuf performs his great song book and also tells a few personal stories. He explained that his son got him to take up guitar again.

Lord, my body has been a good friend
But I won’t need it when I reach the end
Miles from nowhere,
Guess I’ll take my time
Oh yeah, to reach there

Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam)

 

It’s NOT now or never. For me, it’s more like now or in about 5 minutes. I must point out that a quick comment which is most appreciated can easily be done in less than 5 minutes but no rush, take your time not mine.

the other side

Many times on this blog I've written about time. How many times do I need to write about it? Don't time me. I didn't take your time. I took my time.

checking the time on the other side

Given what I think is the general age group reading A Few Clowns Short, I suspect many of you have thought about the other side. You know the side of your timeline after the line stopped. What do you do while your body is taking that long dirt nap?

Now I’m going to write about this without bringing religion into it. Actually an interesting discussion would be to compare the many religious views on this. But not this post. (let it be known, the Lisleman’s Institute for Better Postings would accept any grant money offered for the development of that idea - yeah I didn’t think so)

Go back to that timeline picture for a moment. You’ll notice that the flow of time constantly nonstop heads toward the future.

What if, over on the other side time went in the opposite direction?

Would it even matter or be noticed? Could the other side have no concept of time. I believe our concept of time has changed over time. It was probably much more relaxing just watching days past and maybe paying a little attention to a moon phases. No clocks ticking or scheduling. No sell-by dates. Que Sera, Sera. Just watch out for those occasional tiger/lion/volcano/tornado/rock-to-head/whatever-oh-shit things that could take you to the other side.

Having fun yet?

Here’s something you might never heard of - the famous nobel awarded physicist, Richard Feynman provided an interpretation of a positron (anti-matter particle) as an electron moving backwards in time. This idea has the interesting name of retrocausality which to me sounds like something to use in defense of your next parking ticket. From what I can understand this interpretation aids the solution of some equations but probably has nothing to do with reality.

However is the other side a different reality?

No solid answers for you but please leave your thoughts/ideas in the comment section.



If Cher could turn back time would she wear less provocative outfits?




Thanks for taking time to read this.

Come what May. Now it’s June.

Wow it is June. The arrow of time keeps flying into the future as it always has. This past May, I enjoyed a live musical, a piano recital, and this big performance of Chicago school kids at Millennial Park which included bubble machines. Who doesn't enjoy bubbles?

bubbles add to the fun

"It was twenty years ago today..."

Well you may have noticed it was fifty years ago on June 1 that the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album was released. I was 14. Doing the simple math and you'll calculate that I'm 64 now (another great song from this album). Described by Rolling Stone magazine as “The most important rock & roll album ever made…”. I don't know about that but I do enjoy the album. After watching a the PBS special last night and reading the various analysis on the internet, I'm more appreciative of it's ground breaking studio work.

I dug out our old copy of the album. Here's a pic of the back of the album cover (yeah yeah the front cover was astounding but not as useful). You'll see the lyrics to all the songs. Having the lyrics was a big benefit of albums. I'm using the first lines of the songs on the album as prompts for this post. Thanks John Lennon and Paul McCartney for your great song writing.

a bit of wear

"A little help from my friends..."

We all can use a little help at times.

"Picture yourself in a boat on a river..."

Oh a good float down a river would be great. I have fond memories of tubing on rivers.

"It’s getting better all the time..."

Good to think positive. Yeah it's getting better all the time, I'm just not sure what it is.

"I’m fixing a hole where the rain gets in..."

This could be about house repairs but it's not. Today it seems political to me but so does so many things these days.

"Wednesday morning at five o’clock as the day begins..."

I'm not a morning person so if she was leaving home at this time of day I probably would not notice. Actually, we have noticed that she has returned. Now we are wondering when she will be leaving home again. Someone with more talent than me should write a version for the new boomerang kids.

"For the benefit of Mr. Kite..."

Always thought this one was very odd. While watching the PBS special about the album I learned it was based on an old poster John bought in an antique shop.

"We were talking - about the space between us all..."

IMHO - this is the strangest song of the album. The Indian music influence on George Harrison can't be missed here. Great song for yoga.

"When I get older losing my hair..."

Thank goodness not! I'm 64 with a full head of hair. I'm still getting feed at 64 too.

"Lovely Rita meter maid..."

There's a meter maid in our family history and that's all I'm saying about that.

"Nothing to do to save his life call his wife in..."

Ok, I would not recognize this song from it's first line. The repeating "good morning good morning" parts are more memorable. "I've got nothing to say but it's ok..." The lyrics match up with today's social media description.

"We’re Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band..."

The reprise of the first song. IMHO it would have been better to include another new song instead of basically repeating.

"I read the news today oh boy..."

1967 or 2017 - the news of the day is typically not good. No news is good news?




A splendid time is guaranteed for all in the comment section. Hey Jude, Get Back you Day Tripper. Yesterday, Lady Madonna commented about A Hard Day’s Night.

rambling

Disclaimer: Now I'm a disclaimer, not a trace of truth in my mind. (go look up the Monkees big hit) The following thoughts are very limited. They do not express any views other than I’m probably in need of an espresso.

… when I needed sunshine I got rain...

I learned long ago that a ramble is less painful than a rumble. Ok let's ramble. It’s also better than chanting.

With the explosion of political trash spreading across fakebook last year it seems like this fake news stuff is something new. If you think about similar stories from the past such as hoaxes or propaganda you realize it's not really new. The internet does make it easier to create and spread though.

The Chicago Tribune had a story on this subject yesterday. One of the fake news/hoaxes from the past was the baby picture of Adolf Hitler in 1933. (after this gets around don’t be surprised if someone pins the picture on our president)

cute

The picture was a complete hoax and later discovered to be a touched up (good work considering no photoshop back then) of a kid living in Ohio. (interesting story and more photos at hoaxes.org)

I wonder if a few of those myths passed around in ancient Greece and Rome started out as a good hoax. Just think if Julius Caesar had photoshop for his laptop and printer. He might have lasted longer than the ides of March. Good thing he gave us the Julian calendar before getting himself stabbed by a gang of senators.

His calendar introduced the leap year with an extra day. Not a bad system but by 1582 it needed to be repealed and replaced. Its replacement is the one we use today, Gregorian calendar. I suspect the calendar switch was a bit of a problem but probably not too bad since Romans didn't get monthly billings. The new calendar had to realign the months so October 1582 was a mess. It jumps from Oct 4 to Oct 15 overnight on a Thursday. I have issues with daylight savings time.

Correct word usage - One of the funny tweets selected by Eric Zorn of the Chicago Tribune:

THERAPIST: Anyways
ME: "Anyways" isn't a word. You mean "anyway."
THERAPIST: ANYWAY, we were talking about your difficulty making friends

Did you know the band Ides of March was from Berwyn, IL? Probably the best thing that has come out of Berwyn.

keeping time making time

Oh I just don't care for this seasonal change of the clock time. I just don't see the sense of it anymore. It just confuses our bodies.

If I need a bit of confusion, I can watch a mystery movie or talk to a relative who disagrees with my worldview. I suspect there are people who enjoy turning back the hands of time every fall.

My quick internet search on this annoying subject turned up the idea of permanent daylight saving time. Just switch it and keep it forever. Russia tried this back in 2011 but the people hated it and in 2014 they reverted back to winter and summer switching of the time as we do here.

clock with big hands

For most clocks the tough part of this hour switching (most digital clocks are now completely automatic so you just wake up and wonder why it seems so early) is just remembering which clocks need a turn of hands. Not too bad compared to turning clock hands that are much larger than a man. I found an interesting clip about Big Ben timekeepers.

Changing to the new time twice a year is big deal for the timekeepers of Big Ben. They use the opportunity to also do maintenance on this old machine and monitor it so it's time is within a second of the world standard time. This huge machine is adjusted by placing/removing pennies on the pendulum.





Oh my blog allows you to go back in time and read an old post. Here's one about time titled, "take your time it's about time".

it's now or never

It's now or never.
Could be what you hear from a mattress salesman offering his best deal ever.
OR
Elvis singing to you.

it's now or whatever

Those two now options just are not strange enough for me. If you are interested in this strange subject called physics, you might have thought about time. Time is a strange thing. Einstein really shook up the scientific community when he based a theory on his idea called spacetime. Time and space are connected. Many on this planet combine time and money.

Marcelo Gleiser’s book, “The Island of Knowledge”, has a chapter titled “There Is No Now”. (a better blog post title - Now is never?)

Gleiser gives a real technical explanation. Since the speed of light is finite even the light from something a foot away (the screen you are using to read this) takes about a nanosecond to reach your eyes. (nanosecond is one billionth of second) Then there is the time for the nerve impulse signal to get from the back of your eyes to your brain (microseconds). When you total up the various times, we can’t resolve changes happening quicker than 20 or so microseconds.

I should search for details regarding the aging effect on our sensory times. It can take almost a minute for me to figure out what my wife might have just said to me. Typically, by the time I realize she was talking to me, she has already left the room.

Along with getting paid by the hour, knowing about time is good for planning. For example, I’ve been planning to visit my brother’s in-the-middle-of-nowhere place in August 2017. I did a post about this plan way back in 2010.




It's now or never. How about, it's now or maybe in 5 minutes? Just doesn't have the same impact.

take your time it’s about time

How’s that for pairing phrases?

This post about time could be timeless. Did that last sentence make sense? The problem is the word “timeless”. It doesn’t refer to things without time but just the opposite, lasting all time. Mindless of course refers to acting without being mindful of your actions. So why don’t we say “timeful”.

Time is strange concept. Before clocks became common people, unlike in today’s world, typically gave little time to worrying/thinking about time. Imagine just living your days based on the sun. No number-o-clock since there was no clock to be oh’d about. In the 13th century, scientists started using seconds. Today many electronic devices are specified in nanoseconds.

timeless equation

I’m sure my life is easier now than it would have been centuries ago. There’s many reasons people on average are living longer. You must admit there are many time critical medical procedures that didn't exist years ago.

Time to get back to main topic.

Time’s up

 
(did that make you pause) Not a good time? What’s a better time?

Does the toddler doing time in a time out save or waste time?

When I was a kid my grandma would watch “Days of Our Lives”. I was convinced it wasn’t my life. I didn’t have an hourglass with sands flowing through it. The only hourglass I remember was the one the wicked witch had in “Wizard of Oz”. I think she used it to time flying monkeys. Her time ended before the movie did.

We keep finding new times. Broadcasting and cellphones have given us air time. The Apple company has given us facetime but doesn’t that use up screen time? The internet services have downtime. I’m so glad I just had dinner time and playtime growing up. It might have been the best of times.

You can tell time but really only time will tell.

Back in an early time I posted about physics and spacetime.

So was this post timely?

This song has me wondering about Tulsa time - sounds good to me.

got a second

Did you see the news that you (we all did) got an extra second yesterday (June 30). Now that it is over I feel disappointed that I didn’t plan something for that extra second.

Technology has dramatically change the way we use time. This leap second can cause networks, server, and other electronic systems to crash if they are not prepared for it. Back before time was money, people didn’t use seconds. Reading seconds on a sundial just didn’t happen. In the 13th century, scientists started using seconds. Today many electronic devices are specified in nanoseconds. That leap second equaled a billion nanoseconds.

A group called the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service decided we needed to add a second to the time standard UTC (Coordinated Universal Time).

Now that group could really mess with the world on April Fool’s Day!

The reason for the leap second (many have been added since 1972) is because Earth's rotation is gradually slowing down a bit. Leap seconds are a way to adjust for the slowing spin. Another way would be just to forget about it. Using our clock system a day should have 86,400 seconds.  Whatever, so we have a few slow days (the slowing is not constant) and after a 100 years noon might be 1 minute off, big deal. (Don’t worry I’m not planning to apply for membership to the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service) An interesting fact filled article about this can found over at NASA's JPL web site.

What can you get done in a second? Say a word or two?

If you are a world class fast talker you can say close to 10 words within a second. Remember that Fedex commercial with the fast talker? He was John Moschitta who set a world record back in the 80’s when he was clocked at 586 words per minute. Myself I’m a very slow talker as I pause a second spent thinking of my next word or phrase. This interview clip of him must have been done in the 80's (back when a day was a few seconds faster).

fragments from a future time

About that title - While digging deeper into the meaning of time, I have found it described as a series of spacetime snapshots that run together like a movie. Instead of snapshots, lets use the word fragments since it’s time for the Friday Fragment post.

In this Friday’s edition, I’m discussing paradoxes. To understand paradoxes you need to think logically. We certainly don’t always react logically to situations. We often let emotions drive our thinking which is probably a great thing. If we didn’t use our emotions, we wouldn’t enjoy a laugh from a joke. Many jokes don’t have much logic.

be sure to read the headline

Here’s a quick fun logical paradox. The Liar Paradox - "this sentence is false". If "this sentence is false" is true, then the sentence is false, but then if "this sentence is false" is false, then the sentence is true, and so on. Ok snap out of it, you can get stuck in paradox.

The reasoning behind my seasoning of this post with paradoxes is my recent watching of the movie, “Interstellar”. I highly recommend the movie for everyone who enjoys thinking.

Are you familiar with the time paradox? You know the one that explains why going back in time is a big problem. For example, lets say I went back to the late 1920’s and was able to kill Hitler. There’s a sequence of events related to World War 2 and my parents that might not of happened if WWII didn't occur.  I might not exist. However, traveling forward in time doesn’t have that problem.  There would still be problems such as forgetting to cancel your cable before you left. (years later the cable guy probably still would have never shown up at your house though.  We lack a theory explaining cable installer time.) 

I suggest a little refresh, visit wikipedia or youtube, for time travel info and perhaps a bit of Relativity Theory before seeing the movie. It’s like watching a war movie without knowing who the two sides were. A little background helps you enjoy the movie.

The plot doesn't actually focus on this time paradox but Relativity Theory's time dilation due to speed and gravity creates a time travel situation. If this movie inspires people to use their free time for staying curious and exploring then it has been very successful. The movie "2001: A Space Odyssey" sparked my interest in science and then engineering.

Don't confuse paradoxes with mysteries.  While they both make you wonder, a mystery typically lacks any logical basis. For example, there is no logically reason the sharing of a women's oily skin condition on the internet would get so much recent attention. It's a mystery to me. I also don't how such a huge butt could fit into a twitter feed. Maybe, she is forming a cover tribute band, "Booty and the Ho-fish". Nah, she doesn't have that much talent.

I'll end now, with this personal paradox (or mystery?); why does this Gif of bad mom make me laugh?

Now this was one of my longer FF posts but that's the great thing of the FF post - very few rules. Well, my train of thought has left the station.  If you would like another FF ride check Mrs. 4444's blog she has station full of them.

a few far out fragments

I repeat myself a bit on this blog.  Many years of blogging will do that to you (many years of most anything might do it too).  As I have expressed before, the Friday Fragments posts that Mrs. 4444 wants to collect and share every week are very easy to write.

Many times in the past I have kept a running list/note about items to include in my upcoming FF post.  This week that didn't happen and maybe it will show.

Do you ever think about time?  Not just the where did it go question.  Anyone who has used a calendar probably has asked where did the time go.  No, I'm wondering about a little deeper thought.

There's the deep question about what exactly is time.  Why does it only go in one direction (you can't count the Groundhog Day movie)?  I posted once (long time ago by internet time) on a few scientific views of that.  Here's that time post.  

Lately I've been thinking of a more historical question about time.  I wonder what my life would have been if I lived 100 years ago, 200 years ago (that would sure make me much much older today).  What occupation would I end up doing back then?  My career (most of today's careers) didn't exist 100 years ago.

Alright I'm back, (did you just do a quick time trip?) and I have the time and technology to finish this post.

Every since I was in high school, I have tried to pick up new words.  Picking them up is much different than actually using them often.  My vocabulary gets me through the night day (I'm not a morning person).  So I found this word that is fun to pronounce but I can't think of much use for it.  Have you ever blown through a fipple? I have and didn't even know it at the time. It sounds like ripple or nipple but it's a fipple.

Once again my train of thought has left the station. Remember, posting on social media doesn’t mean people will accept you socially.  The fbooking site seems to have many unsociable members.  Please share a comment.

when the plumbing plans your day

“... when the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go …”

Well it wasn’t men on a chessboard telling what to do this morning. It was a sink drain telling me it was broken. Actually my wife did the talking. Plumbing was not scheduled in any of today's plans. Plumbing can be rude and pushy like that though.

Nothing like a broken do-hickey on your drain pipe to mess with your day. The socket holding the pivot lever which makes the stopper move up and down broke off. The remaining drain pipe was left with a hole in it’s side. It’s easier to just say the do-hickey, doodad or thingamabob broke on the pipe.

I searched around for a picture/diagram of the setup. I discovered a new name in the process, clevis strap. Next time I’m at a hardware store I should inquire about their selection of clevis straps.


At least part of my pipes are clean now.

Remember this other Jefferson Airplane song? 

When the drain is found
to be clogged
and all the joy within you dies
don’t you want somebody to fix-it
don’t you need somebody to fix-it
wouldn’t you love somebody to fix-it
you better find somebody to fix-it

look squirrel

Did you see “Up” by Pixar? I love that scene where the dogs are being easily distracted.

My web browsing has ruined my laser focus. Today it’s more like the scattered distorted light you see looking through an empty beer bottle. Back in engineering school my focus allowed me to tackle Fourier transforms and differential equations on a regular basis.

math doodles

The use it or lose it idea has validity.

I often have post ideas that morph into other ideas before I ever write them down. Ideas can be like dust bunnies running from your broom.

I was going to just post about a Budweiser Bob idiot who left his Glock magazine in the oven. His friend (girlfriend? hopefully no more) was preheating the oven and ended up getting bullet fragments removed at the ER. They should revoke his permit to carry a concealed weapon based on stupidity. (source story)

But one link lead to another and before I knew it I was facebooking, G plusing and youtubing. You know the experience - right? (ah hello, you’re still here are you not?)

Somewhere on my digital mouse path I found this clip. It’s a little long for a short attention span but it is very informative. It shows and explains our minds shortcomings with regard to attention and focus.





another circus 

one more fragment shot for the year

It's the last shot of Friday fragments for the year 2012.  No pressure but if you miss it, you'll need to carry your old fragments into 2013.  

Be sure to check out the fragment fandango being hosted by Mrs. 4444.

2012 was many things for me.  Many things truly sucked.  But one minor thing that turned out more interesting than I expected was Pinterest.

Source: retroplanet.com via lisleman on Pinterest

Like celestial alignments my wife and I occasionally align on an idea.  This Christmas we agreed on most of the gifts which is a gift in itself.

Source: randyreport.blogspot.com via lisleman on Pinterest

Anyone planning a piscivorous evening?

Are you ready to slide into the new year?  It does make sense that humans started counting off days.  Following the sun is simple.  Watch the phases of the moon and you get months.  The seasons along with the sun position and you can mark off a year.  Where did the week come from?  I can't think of any natural cycle of a week duration.  There's the modern weekly cycle of garbage pick-up but we used weeks before  garbage trucks.

As this new year approaches - I feel good.

  

timely posting

Being at the right time and place can be beneficial in a variety of ways. 

Time and time again I wonder what will happen next time.

 

My last time related post was “do you have the time”. Maybe you didn’t have the time and I did back then. 

Someone always has the time but who has the time to figure out who? 

How about that test of time? 

Are there any study guides for it? 

If you fail it, you don’t get to retry.

In general we all want more time but when “your time has come” we become very sad or even scared about it. Maybe wanting time is better than having time on your hands. 

I have heard some people have a better time than others. That makes sense since there are good times and bad times. 

I’m convinced that only the good time slips away. Bad times are often called hard times so that could be why that type of time doesn’t slip away or flow along easily. 

Did you lose track of time? 

I bet you didn’t even realise you were in charge of tracking it. Don’t worry no one is timing you. 

Some time ago, this guy made time for dancing.  

Thanks for making time for my post (hey if you bought some time - how much did you pay for it?). Please tell me how you made the time since it’s precious stuff (the good time is).

do you have the time

You know it must have gone somewhere. Many people have told me they don’t have it.

Who hasn’t lost time?

That’s ok, but do you at least have a moment?

Could we share time together?
 
Some don’t have a minute to spare. But you don’t own it.
 
You had it and you let it slip away. You are getting a time out.
 
Sooner than you think or before you know it, time will come or maybe time will tell.
 
I would have more of it, if I just did things that took no time at all.

Do you have the same problem as me? People often expect me to do the impossible. “Could you hold on a second!” they say.

Oh sure, I have a minute worth of seconds right here in my hands. Which one do you want? I’ve got all the time in the world, but have no idea how much that is.

Take your time. No, I would rather take yours. 

I once posted a timely idea - create Birthday Saving Time.

George Carlin found emotion in a clock face. But he didn’t have digital.

 

another circus 

time tangents

Time for a tobloggan.

What? Ok, I’ll explain because I just coined that term a few posts ago. I barely remember what I posted how can I expect you to remember.

A tobloggan is a post that takes off and glides across your keyboard with ease. A great tobloggan will even pick up speed after it is posted.

A recent post by Jillsy Girl asked that common question (ok maybe not too common with people younger than 30) regarding doing your life over again the same way if you were given the chance.

My over thinking comment included the following:

...The posted question is an interesting one but I think the only good answer is an appreciation of the life we have lived...

Of course this hypothetical scenario can not happen. I can go off on tangent here and start a discussion of time travel and that paradox. But that discussion might mostly be with myself because I don’t think that was the point of the question.

The question offers an open out-of-box thinking opportunity to examine your life’s successes and failures. Most of us have not been in prison so we can rightly say we made at least a few good choices. Maybe we can set the bar a little higher than prison time.

How about those traffic tickets?

Life is filled with an abundance of good, bad, high, low, bright, dark, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, etc (I have not seen too many bowls of cherries but they are tasty when you find one). In other words how do you compare a life to another life?

Much of what happens to us is luck. Good attitude, training, learning from mistakes, focused attention and other attributes are important to be able to seize on that luck. Often it just passes us by without our knowing it.

Now there are many little things I wish I had done over the years. I wish I had saved that erector set from my childhood. I wish I had taken a free trip to Puerto Rico while I was in the Air Force.

The bottom line for me - I’m happy with almost all of my life story. How about you?

another circus 

focused fragments of thought

My title is an oxymoron (that’s another favorite word). I’m not sure if the randomness of the fragments are used in their judging. Focused and fragmented would be opposites by my definition.

Friday must be Mrs. 4444 favorite day because her regular Friday Fragments feature really flys on Friday. I’m sure it is her favorite day that starts with ‘F’. (oh if you happened over here early - yes I know it’s still Thursday in part of the world but hey this internet is global so Friday has started)

 

Even with their beauty and song, birds bring some crap with them. I was just cleaning some off my mailbox this morning.

Did you ever have a quick lunch and get excellent gas mileage?

Maybe it’s this gas mileage I’m getting. I don’t know. I seem to have gotten stuck on this eschatology story, so my fragments are more focused on one idea today.

eschatology - I didn’t know that word and I still need to practice pronouncing it. It is the study of the END. If you have not heard (lots of free PR on this one) Saturday is the big end game. The race ends Saturday as in the human race.

My End Thoughts:

• I'm excited to have Sheryl Crow tickets for a June concert but if the world ends Saturday, I wonder what the refund policy is.
• I don’t know about you but I’m watching it on CNN. Those FOX people are too weird for me.
• Will the telemarketers go first? It would nice to rid the world of them for awhile.
• Why cut the grass the end is near.
• Why do laundry the end is near and don't you get fresh white clothes in heaven?
• I tend to forget names and it’s going to be embarrassing meeting-up with old relatives in the afterlife and not remembering their names. Do we get to bring notes with us?
• I dread the lines. Heaven I hope is prepared. No TSA up there - right? I guess the strip search goes quickly. How long could it take to search a spirit?
• Saturday I'm putting on my good underwear.  My mother taught me and it will be the first thing she asks.
• Do the believers have pets? So do they have a system of feeding them after they are gone?
• This group behind the prediction, Family Radio, is a 350 person nonprofit that has collected millions of dollars. Their Oakland office receptionist, Esther, plans on coming into work Monday. For more read this report.

Our niece posted a cute picture of her son’s preschool graduation. It’s a cute picture but really preschool graduation with cap and gown. It’s like Halloween.  Hey anyone interested in my potty training graduation pictures. It was a blow out party I recall.