Wondering About an Ugly Dog.

Everyone loves dogs, from beautiful, adorable dogs to big mean looking dogs.  They all look different, are different colors, and are different sizes.  But the one thing they have in common is that they are pretty or handsome.  My son has a Doberman and a Pit Bull.  They are impressive dogs and the big Doberman, in my opinion, is the best looking, especially when I scratch his head and he looks up at me with those big brown eyes.

There are a lot of small, cute dogs that make their home with families all over the world.  Here are some examples of long haired beauties:

Now admit it, did you go "awww, they are soooo cute."?  But maybe white is your favorite color for a pooch:

Most people can't help but love dogs in all varieties:

But, have you heard of the Ugly Dog Contest?  Yes, they actually hold an contest whose winner is the ugliest dog in the world.  Here is a picture of a recent winner:

Yuk!!  It sure would get my vote.  If I were a producer of horror movies, I sure would star this dog in one of them.  But, yes I know, somebody loves him or her.  I am going to leave you with a picture that I posted a short time ago of two of my pups:

Now, just remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder (even if it takes more imagination for some than for others) and if you have a pup, give him or her a pat on the head from me and you all have a great day, you hear?

Porch Visitors Are Back.

Back on Sunday, September 21, I blogged about a porch visitor.  Remember that blog?     http://dizzydick.blogspot.com/2014/09/wondering-about-porch-visitor-and-flea.html

I showed a picture of a mushroom in full bloom in one of my wife's flower pots and then I showed it as it was fading away.  Well they came back, only this time there were more than one.  I took a picture late afternoon yesterday and again this morning to show how fast they mature.  Here is yesterday's picture:

 

 The last time there was only one that came up, so I suppose that the next time, if there is a next time, there will be sixteen.  Logically if one was multiplied by four than the four would be multiplied by four and produce sixteen.  Of course botany may not follow strict arithmetic rules.

Here is the the picture I just took a few minutes ago.

If any wants to know, in tomorrow's blog posting, I could tell you how many actually did show up.  Don't forget, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

I better try to come up with another subject cause writing about mushrooms all the time makes a fellow get moldy. . (grin).  You do know that the mushrooms we see are just the fruiting bodies of the mycelium that are the thread like growths that spread out under ground, don't you?  I am not completely sure but these may be pleated inkcap mushrooms.  Can anyone tell me for sure?  Now you all keep moving so that mushrooms can't grow on you, you hear?

Wondering About Stupid.

There are a lot of stupid things in this world, and sadly, there are a lot stupid people, too.  I have done a lot of stupid things in my life and I sure you all have.  That doesn't mean that we are stupid, well not all the time, that is.  But let's get back to those stupid people I mentioned above.  You would think that people who paint signs, especially near a school, should know how to spell, right?  Guess again:

 The rest of this blog is mostly pictures.  They are mostly self explanatory, unless you are like one of the people pictured in them. . . just kidding.  I know you all are smarter than all these put together.

The guy on the right has a dangerous ear plug, don't you think?

A guy has to have his electric grill close by at all times:

If you are going to make a perfect cut, you have to have a good, steady table for your saw.  OK, what happens if he keeps on cutting on up that board?

Sometimes just one fork lift truck is not enough:

Now tell the truth, would you touch that button?  I don't know if I would or not but I do know I would sure be tempted:

 

So, that is just a small example of stupid people.  Now, for any stupid people who may have been reading this blog posting, you must stop here and promise you will never go beyond this point in my blog and leave stupid comments.

 

Actually, I don't mind stupid comments, in fact, I like them.  You know, any comment is better than no comments and I sure do appreciate any and all comments I get.  Now, you all hare a great (and safe) day, you hear?

Wondering About Wild Bill.

Everyone has heard about Wild Bill Hickok.  He was a larger than life character that actually lived a life equal to or greater than the stories about him.  For example, on this date (September 27th) back in the year 1869 in Ellis County, Kansas, Hickok and his deputy responded to report that a local ruffian named Samuel Strawhun (whom Hickok shot in the head) and a couple of his drunken buddies were tearing up John Bitter's Beer Saloon in Hays City.  The citizens of the area tired of hard drinking soldiers and buffalo hunters who took over their town at nights and hoped that the famous "Wild Bill" could solve their problem.

He did just that, but he did his job way too well by killing two men in the name of preserving peace the first few weeks of his term.  He was elected interim sheriff only until the regular elections, which would be held later that year.  When the regular elections came along, he lost the election 144 to 89.  He was only Sheriff for three months.  I think he was sheriff on TV for longer than that (grin).  Now, try not to get in any gunfights, especially with someone called "Wild Bill" and have a great day, you hear?

Wondering about moths; What's the Odds?

Most of the times when I go out, I try to remember to take my camera along.  I don't always do so, but yesterday I was glad that I remembered to stick it in my shirt pocket.  After coming back from town to pick up our prescriptions we decided to go on down to the dollar stores that are close to our house.  At the first one, I spotted two beautiful moths.  This first one is a Luna moth.  They are so delicate and beautiful.  They have such fine antennae that you can see through them.  Now tell me, don't you think it is beautiful?

And low and behold, at the other corner of the window was another beautiful moth.  I didn't know the name of this one and had to look it up.  It is an "Eacles imperialis".  It was a heavier built moth but had beautiful and unique coloring.  I thought it was beautiful, too:

And how lucky can I be that they were both on the same window at the same time and that we chose that time to show up there and have a camera to record them with!!  By the way, here is link to a website about this moth:
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Eacles-imperialis

Those moths made my day.  Now, you all have a great day today, you hear?







 

Wondering About Jiminy Cricket.

My Dad use to say "Jiminy Cricket!".  I guess he used it instead of "dang" or "damn" or anything not really acceptable around women and children.  In other words, it was used as a substitute for profanity.  I just wonder if it is still used that way.  I haven't heard it in many years.  Was it just my Dad or did others use it that way?

 

I guess "Jiminy Cricket" would then fall into the same category as "dang", or "darn", or "gee whiz", or "holy jumpin jehosaphat". 

 

 I don't know about you, but I always thought Jiminy was cute and made a great cartoon character.  The cartoons back when I was young were a lot different than they are today.  They used to all be funny!!  And some of them, especially from Disney, were to inspire young people to do what was right.  But basically, they were designed to entertain and make us laugh.

  
Thank you Walt Disney for making my youth and my adult life a much happier place.  I hope this brought back some memories for some you, go wish upon a star, and have a wonderful day, you hear? 

Wondering About the Word, "Cheapskate".

If I took it literally, I would say that it would be an inexpensive skate, either roller or ice. You know, like these ice skates:

During my college days at Penn State, I used to ice skate in the ice skating pavilion and at cabin parties on some of the nearby mountain lakes.  I wore a borrowed pair like the ones above.

 

The next thing that comes to my mind is this fish:

 



 But that is only because I like to surf fish and have caught many of these, both in the Atlantic and the Gulf.  I have also caught the stingrays.

OK, so far I have shown two different types of skates.  Another kind, the human kind of cheapskates are those who pinch pennies, hate to spend money, and are always looking for a bargain.  Some even clip hundreds of coupons.  Don't you just hate to get behind one of them at the check-out counter?

 

 

And of course, the extreme cheapskates are also dumpster divers:

 

 

OK, so a cheapskate is a penny pinching fish?  No.  There is another meaning to the skate part.  I read this on the Internet:

 



The most plausible theory about the "skate" in "cheapskate" traces it to the Scottish word "skate" which was a term of contempt. However, the definite origins are not known.

 

So, don't be a cheapskate and have a great day, you hear?

 

 



Wondering About Albert Einstein.

There has been a lot written about Albert Einstein and there is a long list of his quotes.  Some may not really be from Albert, for instance, this quote, supposedly from Einstein, has no citation, but I like it anyway:
"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen."

And I like this quote that was by Albert:
"As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain;  and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality."

This next one makes a lot of sense:
[When asked "Dr. Einstein, why is it that when the mind of man has stretched so far as to discover the structure of the atom we have been unable to devise the political means to keep the atom from destroying us?"] "That is simple, my friend.  It is because politics is more difficult than physics"

And even the president has given credit to Einstein:

"It was basic research in the photoelectric field—in the photoelectric effect that would one day lead to solar panels. It was basic research in physics that would eventually produce the CAT scan. The calculations of today's GPS satellites are based on the equations that Einstein put to paper more than a century ago."
— Barack Obama

I also love some of Hawking's quotes and in this one he mentions Einstein:

"Einstein was wrong when he said, 'God does not play dice'. Consideration of black holes suggests, not only that God does play dice, but that he sometimes confuses us by throwing them where they can't be seen." — Stephen W. Hawking

It was amazing just how far ahead of his time, Albert Einstein's theories were.  They hold true today and most will be true for ever, or until the end of our universe where it would be any one's guess how twisted the laws of physics would become.  I am sure that you all understand all of Einstein's work and maybe someday you can explain it all to me.

I want to thank http://www.todayinsci.com/E/Einstein_Albert/EinsteinAlbert-Quotations.htm , the website that I found this information.  Now, have a good day, you hear?

Wondering Why I Was ROFL.

Yesterday, I mentioned on my blog posting that I bought a book written by Patrick McMannus.  He is one of my favorite writers and he has given me lots of laughs over the years by reading his articles in Field & Stream and Outdoor Life magazines.  Last night, I sat down on the couch and cracked open the book and started reading.  Dang!! I forgot just how funny this guy is!!

This book is full of his short stories and I attempted to read the first two in the book.  I started out grinning then went to laughing and moved on to laughing so hard there were tears in my eyes and my stomach was getting sore from trying not to laugh so dang hard.  I couldn't stop, I was in a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

 

Of course my wife asked me why I was laughing so hard over a McMannus book.  I don't really know.  Yes, he is funny but there is more to it than that.  Since his articles were mostly written for outdoor magazines and I love to hunt and fish and of course (I hate to admit this) some most of his articles remind me of some of things I have done.  I just can't explain it, but there is no other comedy writer or comedian that gets me laughing so hard as Patrick E. McMannas.  I dare you to read some of his stuff and keep a straight face!!  I bet you will be laughing, too:



 I sure hope you all can find something to laugh about today.  It doesn't have to be something that makes you ROFL (Rolling On Floor Laughing), but at least I hope you find something to put a smile on your face.  Now smile and have a great day, you hear?

Wondering About a Porch Visitor and a Flea Market Find.

The first thing this morning I noticed a new visitor on the screened in back porch.  No, it wasn't running around but had its feet roots rhizomes buried in potting soil.  It was easy to spot because it was white.  Can you see it?:

OK, here is a closer view.  It is a mushroom and it has such intricate ribs.  So very beautiful:

Then off to the flea market.  My wife always seems to find something to put in her bag, but me, not so often.  Today, however, I did find something to bring home.  It is a book written by Patrick McManus.  I always loved his humor and would read his articles in hunting and fishing magazines, like Field & Stream and Outdoor Life.  His articles always gave me great big belly laughs and I am hoping this book will not be an exception.  It is titled, "The Grasshopper Trap":

After getting back from the flea market (it was only a couple of hours), the mushroom had changed into this:

 

Still pretty but starting to fade fast.  As you probably know if you have been reading my blogs for awhile, I enjoy the beauty in all types of mushrooms.  In fact, I love the beauty in all of Nature.  Now, you all have a great day, you hear?

Saturday Morning at the Flea Market and Pups.

It is Saturday morning and we can usually be found at the flea market.  This morning, my wife wanted to stop at a yard sale along the way, which I did.  She got lots of stuff.  No, don't ask, I don't know what all she got but most was for sewing or quilting or . . . what ever.  Finally got to the flea market, and since it is getting close to Halloween, there were lots of costumes for sell.  I came across a costume that made me take a second look.  What the heck???  OK, I had to take a picture and here it is.  Would any of you guys wear that costume:

 

It was called the "Banana Flasher".

 

 

The other day was grooming day and the two oldest pups wanted their picture taken.  This first one is of the old matriarch, Ginger Muffin.  She is the queen of this place and her throne is that pillow on the end of the couch: 

 

It wasn't long until her fella laid down beside her:



The youngest one got groomed, also, but was sleeping peacefully in her "house" and I didn't want to disturb her.  All three pups rule at our place.  Now you all have a dog gone good day, you hear.

Wondering About Entangled Particles.

In yesterday's blog, I answered The Odd Essay's comment with this:
"There are so many things in the universe that are incomprehensible to me. Some things even seem impossible, like entangled pairs. Hey, that might me another blog subject."

So, I guess today I will blog about Entangled Particles.

  This will not be a long blog because scientists don't know a whole heck of a lot about them.  They do know that entangled particles exist.  OK, you are probably asking what are entangled particles?  They are a pair of subatomic particles (photons, electrons, etc.) that seem to be somehow connected despite distance or time.  In fact, one could be here on Earth and the other way out at the far reaches of the universe and when the one here changes the one way out there changes, too.  How could that be?  It seems that the speed limit of light has been exceeded.  No one seems to understand.  Even Albert Einstein called it the "spooky actions at a distance".

If they measure one, it affects the other:

Even to this day, scientist can not explain how but they are working on ways to use this phenomenon.  Just think what that would do for communication, especially with astronauts that may, in the future, visit other planets.  They could also instantaneously control probes anywhere in the universe and receive data back at once.  And you thought your DSL line was fast??  Now, slow down and have a great day today, you hear?

Wondering About More Black Hole Facts.

There are a lot of different opinions on what would happen if you flew your space ship into a black hole.  So, what do you think would happen?  Your guess may be as correct as the astronomers and maybe even more so.  No one knows for sure.

 

Last Sunday, I did mention black holes in my blog titled:

Wondering About Space/Time Distortions

 



Today, I am going a step further, and it, too, involves black holes:



Let us use the planets as examples of how dense black holes are by showing the sizes of them if they were crushed down far enough to form a black hole.  The four inner planets could easily fit on this page.  Here is an example of their sizes if they could shrink that far:

OK, how about a few myths about black holes and the reality.  The following, along with above chart was taken from Astronomy magazine.

Myth: A black hole sucks in everything around it.
Reality: You have to get real close to a black hole.  What it pulls toward and into it is because of its gravity.  If our sun collapsed into a black hole, the planets would continue to orbit it as usual.

Myth: Once you cross a black hole's event horizon, you would never be able to escape.
Reality: If you just fell in because of gravity, you would never return.  But, if you flew into it in a powerful rocket and had enough fuel, you could fly back out.

Myth: Black holes are super dense.
Reality: True for stellar-mass varieties.  But the biggest supermassive black holes in the hearts of galaxies are less dense than water.

Myth: The core of every black hole is a singularity that occupies zero volume and has infinite density.
Reality: Astrophysicists remain divided about this.  The smart money is betting that this isn't true.

Thank you Astronomy magazine for this list.  I hope this gives you more insight into what black holes really are.  Now, if I were you, I would not visit any because I want you to have a really great day, you hear?

Wondering, "Speak of the Devil"

According to thefreedictionary.com, the phase, "speak of the devil (and in he walks), and Talk of the devil (and he is sure to  appear), is a popular phase used when someone you are talking about appears.

No, I don't mean a real devil!!

In yesterdays blog I talked about a friend and took some pictures off the Internet of him.  I said that since I didn't have any pictures that we took of him, I was going to have to correct that this coming weekend when we go to the flea market and usually see him.  Well, speak of the Devil, he showed up yesterday to give some books to us.  What a coincidence!!  That gave us the opportunity to get a picture as we sat in the RV and chatted.  My wife snapped one of Rich and me.  Of course I am the old, grey guy on the left and he is the young handsome guy on the right: 

Got to run, today is dog grooming day and we have to have all three of them down there at 09:00 this morning, so we must start getting ready.  We had a great day yesterday and I want you all to have a great day today, you hear?

Wondering About a Friend.

Remember my posting back on August 12th about the guitar I purchased?  If not, here is a link to that post: http://dizzydick.blogspot.com/2014/08/wondering-about-guitar.html
Well today, I am going to tell you a little bit about the fellow I purchased it from and how I met him.  Yes, of course this all leads back to that Flea Market! (grin)  In my header picture you can see the Jeep that I pull behind my motorhome.  Well, that Jeep is the how we first met.   You see, I spotted his jeep parked at the Flea Market and I parked right beside it to confuse the issue and then noticed that he had dogs in it.  Now this guy must be alright, he has the same taste in vehicles as I do and he is a "dog person".  Anyway, we finally met him and he became a friend.

When we first met he couldn't believe that we didn't know who he was.  You see, he was a radio personality who has been on both the Huntsville and the Conroe (KSTAR) radio stations.  I believe he was also affiliated with a Nashville station because he did work there and personally knows a lot of the stars.  In fact, he even offered to get the guitar I bought from him signed by some stars the next time he goes back to Nashville.  I told him that was not necessary.

Back to the point of this blog.  Here are some pictures of our friend that I found on the Internet.  The first two are at KSTAR:

 

I don't know who the girl is in this picture but must have something to do with the radio station:



This last picture is a better representation of the Rich I know.  And again, I have no idea who the other person in the picture is.

Now that I have introduced him to all of you, he can be your friend, too.  While writing this blog, I realized that I have never taken a picture of him.  I guess next weekend that oversight will be corrected.  Now, you all listen to some country or bluegrass music and have a great day, you hear?

Wondering Why I Can't Find My Nut Butter.

I really love my nut butter.  Notice I said "nut" butter.  I do not eat peanuts, peanut butter, or anything that has peanuts.  No, I am not allergic to them, it is just that they are universally contaminated with mycotoxins.  First of all, they are not nuts, they are legumes and they don't grow on trees, they grow underground.

 

I am sure you have seen the black stain on the inside and outside of peanut shells, right?  That black stuff is mold and mold can poison you with mycotoxins.  Maybe I will make another post sometime on all sources of mycotoxins and explain what they are.  For now, just know that you do not want anything to do with them.

 

I just love almond butter.  Cashew butter is also great but way too expensive to eat it everyday.  I used to be able to purchase MaraNatha crunchy almond butter but was unable to find it in two different stores where I have always bought it in the past.  I have been noticing that price has been creeping up.  Guess maybe there is a shortage of it?  Gee, I hope not.

 

Here is what I love:

 
And here is what my wife likes:

 
I use it on a lot of things.  This morning I had rolled oats and put butter and almond butter on it and sweetened it with agave.
 
Peanuts don't grow on trees but most all other nuts do.  Here is a picture of an almond nut tree in full bloom:

 
And this is how almonds grow:

 

 On Aug. 19th. there was a recall on some almond butter.  Although it included my brand, it was a different size container.  OK, now I am completely out of both crunchy and creamy.  What ever should I do?  I did see a jar from another producer, but the price was over three times as much as the ones I have been buying.  I have a bag of walnuts, I wonder if I put oil and walnuts in a blender if I could get a fair substitute?  Now, just because I am out of nutter butter, doesn't mean you should not have a great day, you hear?

Wondering About Space/Time Distortions.

Have you ever wondered what objects affect space-time?  I for one, never seem to have enough space nor enough time.  Yes, objects around me affect my useful space and take up my time by hindering my path or objective.  But do these objects cause distortions in me?  Yes, if I trip into them when I am in a hurry.  They got in my space and then they took time away from what I was doing and then my face got distorted, either by the pain caused by tripping over them or the rage felt for them getting in my way.  They should know better than that, right?

But what about massive objects like our Sun.  Yes, the sun does distort space-time but not by very much.  Astronomers have proved that by measuring the time light reaches us from distant stars.  They compare the light from a star when its path is away from the Sun and then when it passes very close to it.  There is a difference.

So what object distorts space-time the most.  Yes the most massive, but let's start with our Sun.  It does not distort the fabric of space-time very much compared to the more dense and massive objects.
Our Sun:

The next massive and dense object on my list is the White Dwarf.  Those are stars that were in the size neighborhood of our sun, but whose internal furnace went out and there was not enough force exerted from its center to the surface to keep it from collapsing.  So, it went from the size of our Sun to the size of our Earth, but a lot more dense than our earth.

A White Dwarf:

 

 This third object on my list is a Neutron Star.  A Neutron Star has collapsed much further than the other ones listed above that its made up of a soup of neutrons.  Comparing it to our Sun would be like comparing a cannon ball to a balloon.  These stars a very energetic and do at times shoot out streams of energy.

A Neutron Star: 

 

Now we come to the final (as far as I know) compaction of matter, a Black Hole.  Just like stars, black holes come in many different sizes, from stellar size to massive monsters living in the center of galaxies that gobble up everything within their grasp and shoot out extremely powerful jets from their axis.

A Back Hole: 

 I scanned a chart that was in October 2014's Astronomy, the magazine that I always read from cover to cover.  I have been getting this magazine for more years than I can remember.  It was so long ago, I think the feature article was about how flat the Earth was and could we fall off the edge if we reached it. . . (grin).  This chart will put my whole blog in perspective.
The Chart:

 

 

Now try not to get too spaced out today, but rather have a great day, you hear?