A really Smartwatch!

Pretty Good Joke of the Dayfrom A Prairie Home Companion®
Jake is struggling through a bus station with two huge and obviously heavy suitcases when a stranger walks up to him and asks, "Have you got the time?" Jake sighs, puts down the suitcases and glances at his wrist. "It's a quarter to six," he says. "Hey, that's a pretty fancy watch!" exclaims the stranger. Jake brightens a little. "Yeah, it's not bad. Check this out," and he shows him a time zone display not just for every time zone in the world, but for the 86 largest metropolitan areas. He hits a few buttons and from somewhere on the watch a voice says, "The time is eleven 'til six," in a very West Texas accent. A few more buttons and the same voice says something in Japanese. Jake continues, "I've put in regional accents for each city." The display is unbelievably high quality and the voice is simply astounding. The stranger is struck dumb with admiration. "That's not all," says Jake. He pushes a few more buttons and a tiny but very hi-resolution, map of New York City appears on the display. "The flashing dot shows our location by satellite positioning," explains Jake. "View ten," Jake says, and the display changes to show eastern New York state. "I want to buy this watch!" says the stranger. "Oh, no, it's not ready for sale yet; I'm still working out the bugs," says the inventor. "But look at this," and he proceeds to demonstrate that the watch is also a very creditable little FM radio receiver with a digital tuner, a sonar device that can measure distances up to 125 meters, a pager with thermal paper printout and, most impressive of all, the capacity for voice recordings of up to 300 standard-size books, "though I only have 32 of my favorites in there so far," says Jake. "I've got to have this watch!" says the stranger. "No, you don't understand; it's not ready." "I'll give you $1000 for it!" "Oh, no, I've already spent more than—" "I'll give you $5000 for it!" "But it's just not—" "I'll give you $15,000 for it!" And the stranger pulls out a checkbook. Jake stops to think. He's only put about $8500 into materials and development, and with $15,000 he can make another one and have it ready for merchandising in only six months. The stranger frantically finishes writing the check and waves it in front of him. "Here it is, ready to hand to you right here and now. $15,000. Take it or leave it." Jake abruptly makes his decision. "OK," he says, and peels off the watch. They make the exchange and the stranger starts happily away. "Hey, wait a minute," calls Jake after the stranger, who turns around warily. Jake points to the two suitcases he'd been trying to wrestle through the bus station. "Don't forget your batteries."

From Noel Glucksman, Georgetown, Texas






Vote for Trump if.......

Mary, at least I didn't drink the Koolaid like you have. But let's get serious for a minute with no smarty language. What is the job and responsibilities of the person we need to run our country and the rest of the free world? Does it matter whether they are familiar with the other countries? Does it matter whether our President knows enough about diplomacy to interact with our allies and enemies? What about trying to get Congress to cooperate with him? The President can't do much without money and the House of Representatives controls the purse strings. So the President has to work cooperatively with Congress or he will have a rough time trying to get his agenda accepted - case in point, Obama has been refused almost everything he has tried to get through Congress. That's why he uses executive actions, though Bush used executive actions a lot more than Obama! The President has to present a budget every year that will not bankrupt the Country; it isn't easy to do. If taxes are too low we would have an economic disaster; if taxes are too high, it might hurt job growth. Trump's suggested tax plan is a disaster according to right as well as left wing economists. But the game is to put out a budget that has a chance of passing so that our country gets economically healthier and still covers the many things that a government must do for us that are not-at-all business-like decisions.Then there is Commander-in-Chief. It is a very complicated job with awesome responsibility. A rash comment can start a war! A short fuse temper can lead to rash decisions. At any rate, every decision can mean the deaths of our finest! It's necessary to show enormous restraint while planning your moves. Bush didn't do that  and put us into war with Iraq, who had nothing to do with 9/11. He upset the balance between Iran and Iraq and turned the Middle East into more of a hellhole than ever and strengthened Iran. Each decision the Commander-in-Chief makes requires him to foresee the political consequences of his actions - which requires a subtle and extensive knowledge of the countries and regions you are deciding about. The President, perhaps above all else, must protect our Constitution. This requires a deep understanding of every word and how it sets up government to work. Disagreement and compromise are written into the Constitution. As I'm sure you know, Mary, God is not mentioned in the Constitution because the Founding Fathers didn't want any particular religion to control the discourse, arguments and compromises necessary to function as a pluralistic society. Just like some people are afraid of Sharia law, so others are afraid of evangelical dogmas. The Constitution protects us from both. Anyway, Mary, if you think Trump is prepared, both in the education of all the complex issues he will be hit with every day, most of which he has no control over, and believe he has the temperament to be cool and calm when an emergency presents itself - then, by all means, do everything you can to get him elected. Just remember what his job description is. We know that he quoted an amendment to the Constitution that doesn't exist. We know that he has badly insulted Merkle, the Chancellor of Germany for no good reason - and was completely wrong in his criticism - which is extraordinarily bad diplomacy, especially considering that Germany is our most important partner in all of Europe. Even if Trump had been right, if he wants to run our government, he should have kept the opinion to himself. We know he is easily distracted by little criticisms, which all candidates endure. Consider the number of exaggerated criticisms he has heaped on Clinton! He has to be able to take it because he will have that coming at him every day he is President; it's just the nature of high public office. Obama, Bush, and any  President, has done stupid things and made bad decisions - and made good decisions that they still got roasted about. Trump would be no exception.

Bangkok Piano Recital Tradition

BANGKOK PIANO RECITAL
September 2, 1968

The following is reproduced from the Bangkok Post and is a true and serious account of the classical piano recital described.

“Mr. Kropp had chosen the title ‘An Evening With Bach’ for his performance. Indeed, from the very outset, it was an evening the social leaders of Bangkok would not soon forget....A hush fell over the room as Mr. Kropp appeared from the right of the stage....With sparse, sandy hair, a sallow complexion and a deceptively frail-looking frame, the man who has re-popularized Johann Sebastian Bach approached the Baldwin concert grand, bowed to the audience and placed himself upon the stool.
The evening opened with the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, the ‘raging storm’ as described by Schweitzer, which, even when adapted for piano, gives us an idea of what the young Bach, whose ideas were close to those of Buxtehude, meant by virtuosity: bold melodic lines, surging dynamics, forceful accents and impassioned modulations which not infrequently confounded the church congregations, according to contemporaries who were alarmed by the intensity of Bach’s expressive power.
As I have mentioned on several other occasions, the Baldwin concert grand, while basically a fine instrument, needs constant attention, particularly in a climate such as Bangkok’s. This is even more true when the instrument is as old as the one provided in the Chamber Music Room of the Erawan Hotel. In this humidity the felts which separate the white keys from the black tend to swell, causing an occasional key to stick, which apparently was the case last evening with the D in the second octave.
During the ‘raging storm’, Mr. Kropp must be complimented for putting up with the awkward D. However, by the time the ‘storm’ was past and he had gotten into the Prelude and Fugue in D Major, in which the second-octave D plays a major role, Mr. Kropp’s patience was wearing thin.
Some who attended the performance later questioned whether the awkward key justified some of the language which was heard coming from the stage during softer passages of the fugue. However, one member of the audience, who had sent his children out of the room by the midway point of the fugue, had a valid point when he commented, over the music and extemporaneous remarks of Mr. Kropp, that the workman who had greased the stool might have done better to use some of the grease on the second-octave D key.
Indeed, Mr. Kropp’s stool had more than enough grease, and during one passage in which the music and lyrics both were particularly violent, Mr. Kropp was turned completely around. Whereas before his remarks had been aimed largely at the piano and were therefore somewhat muted, to his surprise and that of those in the Chamber Music Room, he found himself addressing himself directly to the audience.
But such things do happen, and the person who began to laugh deserves to be severely reprimanded for this undignified behaviour. Unfortunately, laughter is contagious, and by the time it had subsided and the audience had regained its composure, Mr. Kropp appeared to be somewhat shaken. Nevertheless, he swiveled himself back into position facing the piano and, leaving the D Major unfinished, commenced on the Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor.
Why the concert grand piano’s G key in the third octave chose that particular time to begin sticking I hesitate to guess. However, it is certainly safe to say that Mr. Kropp himself did nothing to help matters when he began to use his feet to kick the lower portion of the piano instead of operating the pedals as it is generally done.
Possibly it was this jarring, or the unBach-like hammering to which the sticking keyboard was being subjected. But something caused the right front leg of the piano to buckle slightly inward, leaving the entire instrument listing at approximately a 35-degree angle from that which is normal. A gasp went up from the audience, for if the piano had actually fallen, several of Mr. Kropp’s toes, of not both his feet, would surely have been broken.
It was with a sigh of relief, therefore, that the audience saw Mr. Kropp slowly rise from his stool and leave the stage. A few men in the back of the room began clapping, and when Mr. Kropp reappeared a moment later, it seemed he was responding to the ovation. Apparently however, he had left to get the red-handled fire ax which was hung backstage in case of fire, for that was what he had in his hand.
My first reaction at seeing Mr. Kropp begin to chop at the left leg of the grand piano was that he was attempting to make it tilt at the angle as the right leg and thereby correct the list. However, when the weakened legs finally collapsed altogether with a great crash and Mr. Kropp continued to chop, it became obvious to all that he had no intention of going on with the concert.
The ushers, who had heard the snapping of piano wires and splintering of sounding board from the dining room, came rushing in and with the help of the hotel manager, two Indian watchmen and a passing police corporal, finally succeeded in disarming Mr. Kropp and dragging him off the stage.
The consensus of those who witnessed Mr. Kropp’s performance is that it will be a long time before Bangkok concertgoers are again treated to such a spectacular evening.”

Signed by Critic Kenneth Langbell

 

Republicans leak classified info - a felony!

After the Director of the FBI fully exonerated Hillary Clinton and made clear that she broke no laws and told no lies, House Republicans took the extraordinary step of demanding copies if the FBI’s notes from its interview with Clinton. That request was granted, and almost immediately, information from those notes began leaking to the media. The trouble: every word of those notes is, by definition, classified information.

Jennifer Palmieri, the Communications Director for the Hillary Clinton campaign, tweeted this evening that she “Would remind all that this material is classified. So this is leaking of classified material.” Clinton Campaign Chair John Podesta added that he’s “Already hearing from people who have been contacted by reporters with knowledge of the content of their interviews in FBI 302’s.”

Palmieri went on to point out that not only are House Republicans leaking classified information, they’re likely releasing bits and pieces of it out of context in the hope of painting a different picture of Hillary Clinton’s testimony than what actually transpired. So not only is Paul Ryan’s crew committing imprisonable felonies as we speak, they may be doing it in an intentionally dishonest manner on top of it. 

As a reminder, the FBI confirmed once and for all that Hillary Clinton never leaked classified information of any kind, told no lies, and broke no laws. It turns out the only ones breaking laws by leaking classified information are the Republicans trying to take her down.