Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
What are U doing today?
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What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread)
The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. Here are the winners:
1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, which renders the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period of time.
2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.
3. Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
5. Bozone ( n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.
6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid.
7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high
8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.
9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.
10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease. (This one got extra credit.)
11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.
12. Decafalon (n.): The gruelling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.
13. Glibido: All talk and no action.
14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.
15. Arachnoleptic Fit (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.
16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at three in the morning and cannot be cast out.
17. Caterpallor ( n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.
The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words.
And the winners are:
1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.
2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.
3. Abdicate, v. To give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.
4. esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.
5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.
6. Negligent, adj. Absentmindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.
7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.
8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.
9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.
10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.
11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.
12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.
13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.
14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.
15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.
16. Circumvent, n. An opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.
Cutter is registered as "Cuts Like A Knife", so a nickname of Cutter made sense. It's easy to say.If you operate a backhoe, you'll likely dig a fair few graves. I don't have one now. Really wish I did. It would be handy. They're expensive, though.
Jim wrote: "The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. ..."Great word play! Thanks, Jim!
I liked number 8 in the first list:
"Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it."
Jim wrote: "Cutter is registered as "Cuts Like A Knife", so a nickname of Cutter made sense. It's easy to say.If you operate a backhoe, you'll likely dig a fair few graves. ..."
I like the name "Cutter" but "Cuts Like A Knife" seems to be a strange name for a horse.
My teenage grandson loves operating big machinery. Go figure. He's a handy guy to have around the yard. :)
I don't understand all the rules about naming Thoroughbreds, Joy. With roughly 30,000 Thoroughbreds registered every year, the owners have a rough time figuring out new names that are allowed. "Cuts Like A Knife" isn't all that weird comparatively. Some names are permanently retired. For instance, no one can ever name another Secretariat or Zenyatta - actually, I'm not sure those names are allowed in any registered horse breed. There are lists of Internationally protected names here:
http://www.horseracingintfed.com/raci...
No two actively racing horses can be named the same, either & there is a waiting period, too. I'm not sure how long that is, though. I think it varies.
The Jockey Club rules for naming are here:
http://www.jockeyclub.com/registry.as...
The greatest part of the rules is a LONG list of what are NOT allowed:
1. Names consisting of more than 18 letters (spaces and punctuation marks count as letters);
2. Names consisting entirely of initials such as C.O.D., F.O.B., etc.;
3. Names ending in "filly," "colt," "stud," "mare," "stallion," or any similar horse-related term;
4. Names consisting entirely of numbers. Numbers above thirty may be used if they are spelled out;
5. Names ending with a numerical designation such as "2nd" or "3rd," whether or not such a designation is spelled out;
6. Names of living persons unless written permission to use their name is on file with The Jockey Club;
7. Names of persons no longer living unless approval is granted by The Jockey Club based upon a satisfactory written explanation submitted to the Registrar;
8. Names of racetracks or graded stakes races;
9. Names clearly having commercial, artistic or creative significance;
10. Names that are suggestive or have a vulgar or obscene meaning; names considered in poor taste; or names that may be offensive to religious, political or ethnic groups;
11. Names that appear to be designed to harass, humiliate or disparage a specific individual, group of individuals or entity;
12. Names that are currently active either in racing or breeding (see Rule6(E));
13. Names of winners in the past 25 years of grade one stakes races;
14. Permanent names. The list of criteria to establish a permanent name is as follows:
a. Horses in racing's Hall of Fame;
b. Horses that have been voted Horse of the Year;
c. Horses that have won an Eclipse Award;
d. Horses that have won a Sovereign Award (Canadian Champions);
e. Annual leading sire and broodmare sire by progeny earnings;
f. Cumulative money winners of $2 million or more;
g. Horses that have won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont Stakes, The Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Breeders' Cup Classic or the Breeders' Cup Turf; and
h. Horses included in the International List of Protected Names.
15. Names similar in spelling or pronunciation to the classes of names listed in Rule 6(F) 6 - 14 above.
16. Names of horses previously recorded in The American Stud Book by the same sire or out of the same dam as the foal for which the attempt is made.
17. Names of horses appearing within the first five generations of the pedigree of the foal for which the attempt is made.
Whew! No wonder it's tough to pick a name!
Jim wrote: "I don't understand all the rules about naming Thoroughbreds, Joy. With roughly 30,000 Thoroughbreds registered every year, the owners have a rough time figuring out new names that are allowed. "C..."Wow, Jim, that's amazing. They must go nuts trying to name Thoroughbreds. The lists of protected names are fun to browse though. I like the name: "Bold Fascinator". :)
I used to keep a list of clever boat names. I wonder what I did with it. :) Too bad I never saved it on my computer. I'm sure there are plenty of websites with boat names. Here's one: http://10000boatnames.com/
One of the best boat names I ever saw was: "Marie's Nightmare". :)
Another one was "Mama's Money". LOL
Here's a picture of it:
CLICK ON THUMBNAIL
We had a nice day here. It was sunny & just hit 40. Erin & I went for a ride on Topaz & Chip. Since Blue has been sick, Chip has a lot more energy. He was galloping all over today, really feeling his oats. it was fun except when he cracked my knee against a tree in the woods. He got smacked for that & was more careful afterward. Since Marg wasn't with us, we did a lot more & both the boys were sweaty by the time we got them back to the barn. It was fun.Marg made it official today. I get to be the first one to ride Rascal. Not an honor I particularly wanted. I'm too old to be breaking green ponies. Apparently Marg thinks I'm the best fit to do it, though.
If we keep him. Nothing is sure until we get his Coggins back, hopefully on Monday. We're not letting him out with the others until then, just in case there is a fight. Equine Anemia is what the Coggins tests for. It's a blood born disease. No chance of flies transmitting it now, but a fight could do the same thing.
Joy, horses do get jealous, but I don't think that's the issue between Chip & Rascal. I think Chip is just being a bully & wants to make sure he keeps his spot in the pecking order.
When Marg took Chip to a riding lesson because Cutter threw a shoe, Cutter was very bent out of shape. When they got back, instead of greeting the other horses as is normal, Cutter got in Marg's face & wouldn't leave her alone until she'd paid a lot of attention to him & fed him several biscuits.
Jim, that's so cute about Cutter being jealous and wanting attention.Hope the Coggins report will be a good one.
A couple of people mentioned they wanted to see me with a beard. I asked Marg to take some pictures, but I looked like I wanted to bite in all of them. I also got a picture of Chip doing his race horse imitation. They're on my profile here:http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/6...
http://www.goodreads.com/photo/user/6...
Today is our 53rd Anniversary.We ate out for Valentine's Day. So today we're going out to a restaurant for dessert only. We're always too full for dessert when eating out. So this time we're making sure we have plenty of room for a BIG dessert. (lol)
Congratulations, Joy! Happy anniversary and warmest best wishes to you both.
Thank you for your wishes, Werner!Hope we make it to our 54th! LOL
Getting old isn't for sissies. :)
It hit 60 today!!! It was a gorgeous day & I got a fair amount of stuff done. The Purple Martin houses are up & Blue Bird houses all closed. I leave some open if sparrows have been nesting in them. At least 2 closed houses have Blue Birds nesting now, one at the end of the yard.We went for a ride this evening. Rascal went well for Marg & she did some trotting on him & got him used to the St. Bernard of our neighbors'. Chip was perfect, as always. Lily raced from one end of the farm to the other chasing a low flying buzzard. Perfect fun for a bird dog.
Nothing in the trap this morning, but apparently one was set for me. One of our credit cards just sent me a fantastic deal! All I have to do is call them by the end of the month, then put $1500 on the card each month, April - August, & they'll give me $250! < /sarcasm> Since we don't put that much on all our credit cards in 2 months, I think I'll decline... Jerks.
Jim wrote: "It hit 60 today!!! It was a gorgeous day & I got a fair amount of stuff done. The Purple Martin houses are up & Blue Bird houses all closed. I leave some open if sparrows have been nesting in them...."Sounds like you've been having fun! I went to a live performance of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" last night at our local Wood Theater. It's heavy stuff. The performers were excellent!
(Link: All My Sons )
I also downloaded the movie (via a rental) starring David Suchet. I'll finish watching it today:
http://www.digitaltheatre.com/product...
I wish I could get the version with Burt Lancaster!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040087/?...
Think I'll post this in the
I did some cleaning of the gardens today with a weedeater. Cut all the liriope off & the older stems that were still left standing from some other stuff. Only cut off one daffodil, a small bush & the phone line. Not too bad. Spliced the phone line & put a better pipe over it. Damn phone company using cheap materials.Went for a nice ride with Marg today. She got Rascal cantering & trotting pretty well. He still steers like a truck, but even went into the woods a bit & he managed pretty well. Here are some pics. Speedy is shedding big time!
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...
Funny you should mention Burt Lancaster. I saw a bit of the end of "Castle Keep" today. It's one of my very favorite WWII movies. Peter Falk was wonderful in it, too.
Loved those pics, Jim. I really enjoy seeing your horses and dogs. Rascal is very handsome. That's a lot of hair coming off Speedy. Pixie seems to enjoy the horses. Do the dogs ever get kicked by the horses?
I see that Castle Keep is a book by William Eastlake. Where did you see the movie, Jim? Sounds like a good one. I like the pic of the castle on the book cover. :) I've put the movie on my Netflix queue of DVDs. (I like Burt Lancaster, too.) :)
The horses aren't supposed to kick at the dogs, but since we got Molly & she started trying to herd them, they do sometimes. That's really bad, though. Cutter damn near killed Harley & she's now a 3 legged dog. Usually they just ignore the dogs, though. Topaz is a sloppy eater & scatters his grain about, so the dogs usually scavenge under him without a problem.I caught "Castle Keep" somewhere on the TV yesterday, Joy. Not sure what channel, though. I originally saw it in the movie theater.
Speedy is a Welsh pony, a breed known for their thick fur. Like the Shetlands, a snow storm can leave inches of snow piled on their backs & butts without causing them any concern.
Jim wrote: "The horses aren't supposed to kick at the dogs, but since we got Molly & she started trying to herd them, they do sometimes. That's really bad, though. Cutter damn near killed Harley & she's now a 3 legged dog. ..."I didn't realize that was how Harley lost her leg. Why did Cutter do that? Any particular reason?
I never knew that there were "fuzzy" horses. :)
Our Maltese, Romeo, is at the stage where his hair is getting very thick. I hesitate to have it cut because we still have some cold weather ahead. So March is usually the time when Romeo looks most shaggy. :) I really should be collecting more of his hair these days (to send to you) before it gets shaved off. Shall I ask the groomer to save his hair for me when she shaves it off?
Cutter got rambunctious coming out of his stall & Harley decided she need to protect Marg, so jumped in front of him & barked. Cutter swatted her with his hoof. It knocked her left shoulder out to the side tearing all the nerves & such in it. We left it on for a week or so, but it was stuck straight out & wasn't getting proper circulation, so we had to get it amputated. She recovered a lot faster after that.Some horses are fuzzier than others. Depends on the breed. Cutter, a Thoroughbred, has very little coat & needs a blanket sometimes. Speedy only needs one if it is a cold rain & then gets colder.
The hair you get out with the brush is probably different than what you'll get if you clip him. Sure, send both, but keep them separate.
The way my knitting is going, I may have to just spin up the hair into yarn & let you all find someone else to knit something. It is not going well.
Jim wrote: "Cutter got rambunctious coming out of his stall & Harley decided she need to protect Marg, so jumped in front of him & barked. Cutter swatted her with his hoof. It knocked her left shoulder out t..."So Harley was a hero! :)
It would be nice just to have the yarn and to see what Romeo's hair is like after it's spun. It'll be a while before I have enough to send.
No, Harley was a damn fool & it cost her & us. About $750, if I recall correctly.:-(
I look forward to the challenge of Romeo's hair!
:-)
Jim wrote: "No, Harley was a damn fool & it cost her & us. About $750, if I recall correctly. :-( I look forward to the challenge of Romeo's hair!:-)"
Poor Harley! I know how expensive Vets can be. Our son spent several thousand dollars trying to save his old dog from pneumonia. Boogie died anyway about a week later from a twisted stomach. I wonder what Vet medical insurance costs.
Romeo's hair is different from the hair of our previous Maltese, jorji. jorji's hair tended to mat more. Romeo's hair doesn't mat as easily. I find that difference interesting. I've always suspected that Romeo is part poodle even though we have papers to the contrary. I often wonder if that accounts for the difference in hair.
If the hair mats easily, it probably spins better. Pixie has a lot of poodle in her, we think. She's a Jack Russell & they're all mutts. She doesn't shed at all, has to be clipped, & the hair is curly. I've spun her hair up & it's awful. Like Speedy's fur, it needs wool or Alpaca to help bind it together & that forces the hair out to the side, so it feels like cactus. At least it does when I spin it. Maybe someone else knows tricks I don't.We've looked into vet insurance. It's worse than dental insurance for the cost & what it doesn't cover. Not a good deal for us.
Jim wrote: "If the hair mats easily, it probably spins better. Pixie has a lot of poodle in her, we think. She's a Jack Russell & they're all mutts. She doesn't shed at all, has to be clipped, & the hair is..."It'll be interesting to see how Romeo's hair spins. Soon we will be taking him for a grooming and shave... but not too soon because nights will still be cold for a while. Besides, it costs $40 dollars for each grooming! So we tend to put it off for as long as we can. :)
Marg's pony, Rascal, tried to kill me. I was riding him bareback & we were going along fine when he suddenly lunged forward & he's so skinny I wound up catching him with my heels. That caused him to put in a huge buck & I did a flip off of him, landing on my back. Breathing was not an option for a while. My back was already sore right between the shoulder blades. That did it no favors, of course. Marg said he got all 4 feet off the ground & I could see he almost touched the ground with his nose as I went flying by. He's pretty athletic, at least. I held on to the reins, but the bridle didn't have a throat latch, so I wound up pulling it right off his head & he headed over to his buddies, then wouldn't let me catch him.
I decided I wanted my pony back. He's got a big enough barrel to take up my leg, so we finished up a pretty good ride on our proper mounts. Rascal is only an inch shorter than Chip, but so much skinnier I can't get my entire inner thigh on him much less touch him with my knee or calf. Marg, in her deep saddle says she's OK, but even Erin didn't feel like she had enough leg on him.
He's definitely Marg's mount. I'm too old for a repeat performance!
;-)
Oh, Jim! Be careful! Why did Rascal lunge forward?How do you feel? Are you hurt at all?
He was kind of spooky today for some reason, Joy. No idea why he suddenly jumped the way he did, but without a good seat, I wound up nailing him, so he nailed me. I landed as well as could be expected, flat on my back. A little less spin & I'd have broken my neck. A little more or a root or rock & I might have really damaged my back. As it is, I think I'm just going to have some stiff old muscles for a while. No harm or foul. These things happen when riding any horse, much less a young one.
Glad you're OK, Jim. Guess you were lucky!
Lucky would have been a nice ride without doing a flip on to my back, I think. I'd just call it life with horses.;-)
Today I need to figure out a new way to hang the fans on the top of the stalls. They're regular box fans & we've been just tying their base to the top of board that the stall doors hang on with another piece of twine up to the rafter above. The horses have started playing with them, so I need to come up with something more stable (Pun!) after 5 years.
They need to be easily turned to point in or out of the stalls, depending on if the horses are in or out. Since they're 7 or 8 feet up, making something that is strong, light, & easy to deal with is a challenge. The sliding track of the stall doors is in the way, too. I have some ideas, though.
I think I'll weld up some brackets out of horse shoes, attach it to a piece of fence board with the fan mounted to another on top of that. A bolt in the center will allow the boards to swivel so we can adjust the angle the fans blow at. The horse shoes should keep the base firmly on the top board of the stall. Maybe I'll put a piece of light chain from the top of the fan to the rafter to make sure the top stays steady even when the horse pokes about with their nose.
Well, I'll see what works & post some before & after pictures.
Hope it works, Jim. Pics would make it clearer.
Thanks for the pics, Jim. Now I can understand what you were describing. A picture is worth a thousand words! LOLNeat job! You're a kind of inventor, I see.
We used to have a fan like that in our attic. There a was a louvered vent in the ceiling in our hall with the fan behind it. When it was turned on, it would pull the air through our open windows on the main floor. A strong rush of air would come through the windows and cool the house off in a hurry. The strength of the fan was amazing.
Ack! It's snowing outside!!! It was 70 degrees yesterday! Big fat flakes, too.I'm a little stiffer this morning, but not too bad. Talked to Mom & told her about the Rascal wreck. Unsurprisingly, I was told to go get moving to work the stiffness off & aren't I old enough to know better? No, I guess I've still got it. ;-)
Those were literally called "attic fans," and Jim as I read along "Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore," I keep thinking how much I think you would enjoy reading and also reviewing it.
Today, after the regular week shopping (CVS, food shopping, and such), we are staying home. Cooking a pot roast with red vinegar and some wine. Makes the meat taste incredible. Got the candles going, a glass of wine, reading books, that sort of stuff. A parade was going on earlier in town.
I'm also watching the red-tailed hawks on the Cornell website - Big Red laid an egg, and they are expecting her to lay another one.
http://cams.allaboutbirds.org/channel...
We had a fan that was in the ceiling & led into the attic in our last house. It was called a 'whole house fan'. It was over 3' in diameter & sucked air through the whole place. Great in a split level.
Jim wrote: "... I was told to go get moving to work the stiffness off ..."Jim, I don't think you'll EVER stop moving! LOL
Nina wrote: "Those were literally called "attic fans," ..."Yes, that's right! Nina!
Linda wrote: "Today, after the regular week shopping (CVS, food shopping, and such), we are staying home. Cooking a pot roast with red vinegar and some wine. Makes the meat taste incredible. Got the candles goin..."Sounds very romantic, Linda!
I saw the following group at the Wood Theater last Saturday 3/16/13. They were great!Beach Boys Tribute "Beach Party Boys"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7E326_...
Take a look and listen. Bet you can't sit still while watching. Makes you tap your foot, at least!
We had a nice ride with Josh & Erin last night. I posted some pictures here:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...
Thanks for the pic, Jim. Looks like everyone had a nice time.I'm away at my sister's this weekend. We attended memorial service for a deceased aunt in Utica. It was more like a wedding because they had a D.J. and dancing as well as a full buffet full of delicious foods. It was good to see many relatives I hadn't seen in many years.
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
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Sounds like the horses had a great day. You too.
How did Cutter get his name?
Let us know what happens when Rascal gets together with the boys. :)