George W. Bush was Right.

Back on this date in 2002, president George W. Bush during his State of the Union Address, first used the phrase "axis of evil" to describe the countries of  Iran, Iraq, and North Korea.  Maybe he was comparing them to the original axis of WW2, Germany, Italy, and Japan.  President George W. Bush believed that to precipitate U.S. troop pullout would lead to increased chaos, bloodshed, and eventual terrorist victories. Given the recent dramatic events in Iraq, it looks like Mr. Bush knew what he was talking about.  To read more on that subject, go to this link.

Well, I would say that his prediction was dead on and it has all come to pass.  I liked him as a president and as a person.  I didn't know that he was also a fortune teller (grin).  He showed compassion to the military men and especially to the wounded and would visit them at their bedsides in the hospitals.  The more one looks back and reviews his terms in office, the more we realize that he was mostly right.

I didn't mean to make this post sound political, but since it was about what he said in his State of the Union Address, it had to have some politics mixed in with it.  Now, have a great day, you hear? 

Dignitaries that Live with Me.

I got three dignitaries that live at my house and allow me to serve them.  They just got back from the beauty parlor and they look and smell wonderful.  It sure is nice having those dignitaries here.

Before I go any further, let me break down the word dignitaries.  "Dig" means to remove something to get to what is under it.  You know, like when you dig through a pile of clothes in your dresser drawer to find that special shirt or dig through a lot of information to find a certain fact.  Well my pups that live with me like to dig in the dirt and through a pile of toys or what ever.

The middle part of that word is "ni" which stands for nickel.  I guess a dignitary is worth his weight in nickels, at least.  So, I may just have three very valuable pups.  At least they make me feel like I am a rich man and with their love and companionship, I am a very rich man.  They are the salt of my life and they add spice to an otherwise boring live.  Not that I have anything against being bored, as long as it is in my rocking/recliner with a pup beside me.

The last part of that word is "tarries".  That means to stay or linger in one place.  Yes, I hope they tarry with me until I am no longer.  There is no reason to not tarry here.  My wife even cooks gourmet food for them, and let me tell you, they were in quite a hurry to get back from the groomer's today to get their home cooked meal, even if it was a couple of hours or so late.  So now you know why they are dignitaries.

I remember way back when I was in school, they had some man come and speak to us in the auditorium.  He was introduced as an expert and he said he didn't like being called that.  He explained that if you took that word (expert) in two parts it would say ex-spurt and the meaning of ex means past and the meaning of spurt is a drip under pressure, so expert means a past drip under pressure.  Sometimes it is interesting to look deeper into what seems to be simple words.  Now have a great day, you hear?

Binary Star Systems

Look up on a clear night and you see millions of points of light.  You may think that most of these points of light are made by a star.  Well, you would be wrong.  At least four of every point of light that you see are from binary star systems.  You know, I read that this morning and had to go back and read that again.  That is very hard to believe but that is what the astronomers have predicted.

So, you may ask, what is a binary star system.  Well, a binary star system is where two stars close to each other also orbit each other.  Some of these systems have more than two stars, but then it wouldn't be called a binary (meaning two) system, would it?

Most of these systems are stable but some are not.  The picture below depicts the path of two stars swirling closer and closer and closer to each other, until they combine, probably with a big bang or a nova, and if they are huge enough, with a super nova.

Well I learned something new today.  I have always said that a day is wasted if you don't learn something new, and let me tell you, I have wasted a lot of days (grin).  Now you all have a great day, you hear?

Dang, It's Cold!!

We have been having some pretty cool weather at my place.  This morning it got down to 32 degrees.  Hey, that is freezing cold!!  Doesn't last long enough to hurt anything.  It is suppose to get into the upper 60's later to day, which is closer to normal.

Well, I guess you guessed I have nothing to talk about this morning, so relied on the weather.  Yes, I am really boring this morning along with being on the chilly side.  I hope I can come up with an interesting blog posting for tomorrow.

If you have read this blog this far, you must be bored, too.  Well, maybe I ain't bored, I just don't have anything to say.  So, why have I typed all the above words just to say so??  Yes, you are right, it is because I am bored, too.  Now, just because I am bored, doesn't mean you shouldn't have a very great day, you hear?

Oh Mother

We all have or had a mother.  I was so very lucky to have had such a great Mom.  But my Mom is not what this blog posting is about.  It is about our English language and all the words it has that can mean mother.  Let's see, what all did I call my mother.  Well,  usually I just called her Mom but when I was younger, I called her Mommy.  Of course I pronounced them like the words mummy or mum.

There are other words that could be used, also.  For example, some mothers are called just "ma" or by a name close to what I used, "mamma", or like the old song "mammy". 

The word can also be a verb, like when you say "she will mommy you".  That means pamper, care for, look after, etc.  Now, if you change the "o" in mommy to a "u", it means something altogether different.  Now, how about you telling us what you called your mother and also, make sure you have a great day, you hear?

Views of Our Solar System

I found a website that posted 116 slides.  Pictures taken throughout our solar system.  I found it quite interesting and I thought you would, too.  To make it easy for you, click on the link below and after you get to the site, pan down to the very bottom.  There you will find the pictures.  Just pick on the arrow at the side of a slide to go to the next one, etc., etc.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/new-evidence-suggests-a-ninth-planet-lurking-at-the-edge-of-the-solar-system/ar-BBotNpO?ocid=spartandhp#image=AA8lMqC|1

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  Now have a great day, you hear?

How About Some Funny Words.

There are a lot of funny sounding words, some I am familiar with and some I am not.  Let me start with saying that we all have heard of macadam roads, right?  I drove on lots of them in my life.  The name came from the guy who invented it, Mr. McAdam.  This got stretched a little into macadam.  Yes, I am quite familiar with that term but "Unremacadamized"?  This one is easy, it means "Having not been repaved with macadam".

There are a lot of words that I know the meaning.  Here are a few examples:

Blunderbuss - A gun with a flared muzzle.

Cantankerous - (this is what I can be) Testy, grumpy.

Collywobbles - Butterflies in the stomach.

Comeuppance - Just reward.

Discombobulate - To confuse.

Donnybrook - Melee or riot.

Doozy - Something really great.

Filibuster - Refusal to give up the floor in a debate.

Fuddy-duddy - Old fashioned, mild mannered person.

Gobbledygook - Nonsense, balderdash.

Hocus-pocus - Deceitful sleight of hand.

Hoosegow - A jail or prison.

Vomitory - An exit or outlet.

and, of course, Lickety-split, Maverick, Mollycoddle, Namby-pamby, Nincompoop, Ornery, Rambunctious, Rigmarole, Skedaddle, and Skullduggery.

These are the ones that I have heard and have probably used a few or more times during my life time.  Just in case you are interested, a much larger list can be found at this website:

http://yubanet.com/oddnews/100-Funniest-Words-in-English.php#.Vp07zY-cEqQ 

Now I know you all have used lots of funny words, some may only be heard in certain geographic areas, others are universal.  Let me hear some of your favorites and have a great day, you hear?