Monthly Archives: December 2024

for those of you missing the wp snow

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bubbles.

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looking forward to seeing these opened on christmas

don’t know who will have more fun with them

the humans or the cats?

(and not your children)

see below.

‘bubbles are always new; you just can’t find an old bubble.’

-tom moddy

here’s the pitch –

Catnip Bubbles 8oz – $2.25

  • have more fun with your cat & try these catnip bubbles! your cat will love chasing & batting bubbles. and you will love watching them
  • interactive, catnip-scented fun
  • bubble wand included!
  • size: 8 fl.oz
  • for cat use only. not intended for children.

 

spirited.

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‘is that the real santa, or just an elf?,’

you might ask yourself

during that annual office christmas party

at some point

there is often someone 

who really goes all out

 feels the spirit

be ready. 

“don’t get your tinsel in a tangle!”

-author unknown

 

 

photo credit: midcentury vinatge 

you’re out of line.

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in late 2022, a farm owner noticed a few sheep on her farm in inner mongolia walking in a circle. eventually, all 400+ sheep in her herd started walking in a continuous, perfect circle for 12 straight days.

without a landmark humans cannot walk in a straight line.

Humans are masters of navigation. Over the course of history, we’ve developed tools to help us explore not only Earth but other planets. Yet strip away all those tools, blindfold us, and tell us to walk in a straight line, and inevitably we become a directional mess, turning in tight loops. Many studies in the past have cataloged this phenomenon again and again. Without some form of reference, such as a mountain, a building, or even the sun, humans are incapable of walking in a straight line, no matter how hard we try. It happens whether we’re blindfolded or just lost in the forest. So what’s going on.

We don’t know for sure, but  scientists have been able to rule out some popular go-to explanations. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Germany discovered that body asymmetries (different-sized legs, right-handedness vs. left-handedness, etc.) didn’t account for such vast misdirection. Additionally, the idea that people can’t correctly calculate the movement of their legs doesn’t explain the tight-looped pattern. The scientists theorize that with every blindfolded step, a very small directional discrepancy from a straight line is introduced, which then compounds with every additional step. Without the aid of visual references to unconsciously correct for these discrepancies, blindfolded people are poor at navigating a straight line, and will inevitably begin walking in tight-looped circles. While this theory explains why we do this, scientists aren’t sure of the biological how (though they think errors in the inner ear may be to blame). For now, this straight-line conundrum remains one of the many mysteries of the human brain and body.

i keep a close watch on this heart of mine

i keep my eyes wide open all the time

i keep the ends out for the tie that binds

because you’re mine, i walk the line.’

-johnny cash, ‘i walk the line.’

– Length (in miles) of the longest straight line possible at sea, connecting Pakistan and Russia
19,940
 
Highway #10 is the world’s longest straight road (149 miles), in Saudi Arabia, per Guinness World Records
 

 

source credits:  newsweek magazine, interesting facts

sweet december.

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a sweet classic

for your viewing pleasure

just because.

‘december has the clarity, the simplicity, and the silence you need for the best fresh start of your life.’

-vivian swift

 

 

 

 

video credits: the CBS Christmas message by R.O. Blechman (first aired 1966). mcf

‘the internet is a great way to get on the net.’-bob dole.

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as many of you already know, i have been challenged by technology, time and again.

i accept that and hobble and click way through it all

and sometimes it somehow untangles itself and even works.

below are a couple of posts i found online that really are good examples

of an inside look at my technological life, and i so love them. 

You can be having the nicest day and then you have to print something and you know your day is about to fall apart real fast.

Shoutout to ppl who save documents every 2.1 seconds while working on them because you lost one file 21 years ago & won’t be caught slipping again.

thank you for your kind service, people who left the above quotes, and, yep.

 

image credit: linked in

 

 

a night at the circus.

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perhaps i was out a bit too long

this must have been a lot of fun though

while i’m not sure exactly what went down here

 i do feel that i know

who the ringleader of this holiday circus may be. 

‘i was walking along and this chair came flying past me, and another, and

another, and I thought, man, is this gonna be a good night.

-liam gallagher, oasis

lit.

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driving home next to a lit-up christmas car

way deep in the holiday spirit

is that santa

out for a night on the town?

‘following the well-lit path, offers little in the way of magic.’

-seth godin

 

shop with a cop II – holiday edition.

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for the second time 

i’ve had the honor of volunteering 

with local law enforcement officers, firefighters, marines,

first responders, heroes of all kinds,

community members

athletes from university sports teams

all there to host children from across the area

from families who are underserved in our surrounding community

the parents receive a stocking filled with gift cards

for gas, food, things for home, other things they want or need

the children stay with us

for an afternoon/evening of fun, food, activities, a santa visit,

and holiday shopping

for loved ones,

for warm outdoor winter wear for themselves,

holiday pajamas, cuddlies,

for things on their dream wish list,

(we find some things to pass on to a parent to give them from santa for holiday gifts)

along with some other things they’ve been hoping for or need

so joyful to see

most children wanted to buy things for those they loved first

we had to steer them back to also choosing some things for themselves

these are children who struggle

yet still understand the joy found in giving to others

j, the little guy who was trusted with myself and a young sherriff’s officer

said his mom’s very favorite thing in the world was mountain dew

 he chose this as the first thing to put in our cart

he also bought some toys for his two cats

but just wrote ‘to: cats’ on the tag

so they would both share them

for ‘papa-grandpa’, some chicken noodle soup

j is an only child, raised by a single parent

he’s not had an easy life

yet, he has a gentle spirit

watched the fish in the tanks for a long while

 wanted to take them home and let them go

‘because they are prisoners in there’

loves nature, being outside, running,

catching minnows and letting them go,

fishing and letting them go,

and everything at recess

he played hide and seek in the store with us

laughed with no filter

seemed to love every minute where his role

was to just be a child, enjoy all the fun, he certainly deserves it all

even the giant sugar cookie he decorated

with all of the five colors of frosting on it

and every kind of sprinkle.

—-

“the greatness of a community is most accurately measured

by the compassionate actions of its members.’

-coretta scott king

 

a simple wish.

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 december

the gingko tree

under a cold blue sky

in a spectacular moment

 drops its golden canopy

over tiny hints of snow

gracefully welcoming

the coming of the next season. 

‘december is a simple wish that brings spectacular moments.’

-author unknown