Random Observations #1
- Is it just me, or have others noticed a distinct improvement in the quality of homeless people and beggars lately? I haven’t been downtown in a few months, but the last few times I went it seemed that the homeless people hanging out around Lake Eola and the main library were younger, neater, cleaner, more organized and clearer of eye than previously. The other day leaving Sam’s a beggar was working the exit of the parking lot. He was better dressed than I was, frankly, his sign stated that he had been out of work and had two children to support, and he was selling water. He had probably bought the water at Sam’s from the look of the case. I didn’t see his price, but if he was selling them at a dollar a bottle he stood to make 80 to 90 cents profit on each bottle. Sell ten or so in the hour and you’ve just earned minimum wage. Don’t, and you’ve spent an hour standing in the hot sun for nothing.
- The main character in the children’s show Dino Dan is clearly having a psychotic breakdown – and none of the other characters seem the least concerned about it!
- My wife and I should have had children at least ten years earlier.
- Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste is apparently made with catnip.
- How the Hell did I get so old?
Ambiance 
chickelit said,
April 10, 2013 at 9:32 pm
Is it just me, or have others noticed a distinct improvement in the quality of homeless people and beggars lately?
The downwardly mobile are a huge cohort.
TT Burnett said,
April 10, 2013 at 11:30 pm
I’ll only say, if we had had our children 10 years earlier, we would have missed all the fun. Old and broke as we are, I’m glad we had them when we did.
chickelit said,
April 11, 2013 at 12:02 am
Tim, my two kids, 13 and 14, both work outside the home (mainly weekends) and are partially paying their way. My daughter pays for her own horseback riding lessons. The older, my son hopes to get an ROTC scholarship which may look iffy at this point, but he’s still 3 years out.
amba12 said,
April 11, 2013 at 8:39 am
After I brush my teeth, Flighty will try to lick the breath out of my mouth. I always attributed it to the fact that catnip IS a mint, so there must be a family resemblance.
Icepick said,
April 11, 2013 at 8:49 am
I’ve not had the issue before this latest tube of tooth paste. But now, the cats will come running up to me and start getting very feisty, very aggressively playful, and will start chewing on me sooner rather than later. Just as though I had catnip on my hands. They go berserk!
Now my daughter, on the other hand, goes berserk simply from being awake. I’m pretty sure I’ve sired The Destroyer. Just this morning she stood on some scales, examined the results and announced she was “Two minutes big!” I assumed she meant “two minutes to midnight” and that she WILL bring about the Apocalypse eventually. And for those of you who wonder, the Apocalypse will not be brought to you by grim visaged War, but instead by gleeful squeals of a child. Consider this a warning….
mockturtle said,
April 11, 2013 at 10:40 am
Terrifying thought!. ;-) Of course, I remember Village of the Damned.
karen said,
April 11, 2013 at 4:36 pm
!st thing that came to my mind- w/a grain of salt and a giggle…
my husband and i always brush our teeth before…
you know.
It’s a joke, or not(;0})- but, i wonder if catnip has any reflection on the actions on people?
As for the homeless- there was a body discovered behind a shopping mall in Burlington a day or two ago- found in a tent. It’s probably a good thing FL is warm and sunny most of the time.
Just noticed the !st… = 1st, but pretty apropos, eh?
2morrow is amba’s birthday- flood these sacred spaces w/{{ lovelovelove }}!
The day after is ice’s… ditto the above ————————->{{ xoxoxoxoxo }}!
Icepick said,
April 11, 2013 at 5:02 pm
Karen, we get a lot of homeless and especially run-aways because people can actually live outside here during winter.
And thanks for the b-day wishes. I turn 45, and my presents have already been received: a trial subscription to New in Chess Magazine*, new socks, and an afternoon off! We’ll probably get cupcakes for Saturday. I’m really not one for celebrating my birthday, but we’ve been telling Catherine about all the high points before we get to her birthday, so we’ll make a small issue of it. Plus, cupcakes!
* I once has a subscription to this magazine, and it is without question the best chess magazine in the world. Also the most expensive: eight issues a year for $98! Yowza! So I’m getting a special intro offer of three mags for $20. I took it specifically to get the coverage of the just concluded Candidates Tournament o determine the challenger for World Champion Vishwanathan Anand this fall. It was the best tournament I’ve ever seen, and I think a good argument can be made it was the best tournament ever. Man, that was good stuff! I was bouncing off the walls for days watching that one, and was grateful when it was over: that’s six to seven hours a day spectating online, very tiring. I can’t even imagine how drained the players were. I think Kim was going crazy because of how pumped I was after every round!
mockturtle said,
April 11, 2013 at 6:43 pm
Happy Birthday, Ice!! :-)
Donna B. said,
April 11, 2013 at 6:45 pm
Two minutes big — that will keep me laughing a while! Thank you.
karen said,
April 11, 2013 at 6:46 pm
Lol- ice. Who knew you were such a geek!? One veneered in frozen icicles- to be sure- must keep up the image, but i think Cat’s getting to you as you’ve thawed out a tad over the yrs:0).
Chess- yikes.
The cheese thing i totes get- we get pd(or we did, conventionally-) based on the cheese market prices.
Totes is my 10yr old’s version of ~totally~.
Icepick said,
April 11, 2013 at 9:33 pm
Funny, I feel like I’m getting substantially more, shall we say, prickly over the last year.
And I’ve been a chess nerd since I was a little boy. That, and rockets, and science more generally since I was very small.
Icepick said,
April 11, 2013 at 9:47 pm
Today is the five year anniversary of my getting sacked from Disney. This is now the longest stretch on my resume.
mockturtle said,
April 11, 2013 at 10:04 pm
I have a cousin who worked for Disney in SoCal. She said that, if you are put on a probationary status, it’s called ‘Mouschwitz’.
karen said,
April 12, 2013 at 7:35 am
HAPPY Birthday, amba!!
I love you back w/hearty hugs!
mockturtle said,
April 12, 2013 at 9:54 am
Happy Birthday, Amaba!!! :-) Hugs & blessings!
karen said,
April 12, 2013 at 3:18 pm
“Snow, snow and more snow.”
That’s a direct quote from ~Franklin and the Green Knight~, the cutest kids movie… and a reality in y neck of the woods. I want green grass– sigh.
kngfish said,
April 13, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Happy AmbaDay! (Thus I do christen!)
wj said,
April 13, 2013 at 1:17 pm
Karen, in contrast we had a discussion this week about whether it was time to turn on the A/C. It isn’t — one day in the low 80s does not make it time, especially when it will be back to highs in the upper 60s and raining next week. But it is certainly a contrast to snow country.
karen said,
April 13, 2013 at 9:09 pm
Happy BIRTHday, ice!!!!
I’m sorry i’m so late in the wishes- my laptop was w/my child @my folks.
wj, salt in my wound, dude. Just so’s you know– we do have an air conditioner, too. And, we use it no less than 5 days in the Summertime:0).
wj said,
April 14, 2013 at 11:11 am
On the other hand, Karen, you have trees that don’t have to be watered all summer to survive. Not to mention the feature of deserts with excess population: water restrictions to try and convince those from elsewhere that they cannot have the lush lawns they had east of the Rockies without massive restrictions elsewhere.
karen said,
April 14, 2013 at 4:26 pm
Funny you should say that- the feature story in our weekly ~Chronicle~ this time around was about all the folks from out of state buying land or homes here due to lower crime rates and availability of H2O. The couple interviewed said they weren’t even allowed to use rain barrels to catch h2o– against the law.
The ground needs it!!