What Are You Doing For Excitement Today?

[Ms Bear]

I hope everyone had a nice Valentines Day.  It seemed to be a happy day for most of the people that I saw today.

I went to a Historical Society meeting at a neighboring county and heard a lot of interesting stories about how this area was settled and has grown.  One of the women was a fourth generation and probably related to half the county.

[Warph]

Right.... Happy Valentines Day To All.

Oh Yeah, here's something you might keep in mind if you're flying off to Europe anytime soon.

FLIES!      
                   

If you fly into Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport and, if you do what most people do after a long flight, you are probably headed to the lavatory.... right?  If you're a guy, you'll see that Schiphol's bathrooms sports a feature many do not... beautiful urinals, with flies on them.  Stare for a minute and you'll notice that the fly doesn't move.  Look around, and you'll note that the flies are everywhere.... one per urinal, all the way down the row.

I figured out that the fly is a peel-and-paste decal, and it's not there for decoration or, even, to keep real flies away.  It's a target, plain and simple.  Something for all you sharp-shoot'n customers to aim at as yo urinate.  Checked with Schilphol's manager and he claimed that, "spillage was down 80% once the flies were added."

I found this out later with Professor Mary Berenbaum, head of the department of entomology (the study of insects) at the University of Illinois and she said that apparently, men have "a deep-seated instinct to aim at targets".  The fly decal fulfills that need, and the guys spend more of their attention making sure they hit the target, so to speak.   

I checked with Amazon and sent Jarhead and LarryJ a package each of those ol' flies.  Guys... you owe me $20 bucks 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B005DJPAF8/nowiknow-20

[Diane Amberg]

I'm off to a high school reunion meeting tonight in Kennett Square. We've got to stop having so much fun and get some work done! Have a nice evening everyone, even the grumps.

[Warph]

Giving my cat her cosequin pill.


1.Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.

2.Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.

3.Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4.Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right fore-finger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5.Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call spouse from garden.

6.Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7.Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered Doulton figures from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8.Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9.Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink glass of water to take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from carpet with cold water and soap.

10.Retrieve cat from neighbour's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.

11.Fetch screwdriver from garage and put door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus jab. Throw T-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12.Ring fire brigade to retrieve cat from tree across the road. Apologise to neighbour who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat. Take last pill from foil wrap.

13.Tie cat's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy duty pruning gloves from shed, force cat's mouth open with small spanner. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of fillet steak. Hold head vertically and pour a pint of water down throat to wash pill down.

14.Get spouse to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call at furniture shop on way home to order new table.

15.Arrange for RSPCA to collect cat and ring local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.

[Diane Amberg]

HA! When did you move to Great Britain?
  We bought our tickets  this morning for Lord Of the Dance in March. It will be fun to see it again.

[Diane Amberg]

Hey all! Who would like to go with me to The Atlantic Sands Hotel and Convention Center in Rehoboth Beach on Thursday morning? What! A day on the beach in February doesn't excite you?
 It seems my volunteer fire company ( Aetna Hose, Hook and Ladder Company) and Diane in particular are being honored at lunch for all the help we give Newark Parks and Recreation. They will be at a big Parks and Rec conference that day.
I'm getting mentioned for being the fire safety instructor for the two week Safety Town Day Camp for 32 years and also doing a new program now that includes a walking tour to see the fire house.
Al gets to go too and a good friend who has been both Chief and President of the company is going also, so we'll have three for a nice lunch. I'm very flattered to have been noticed and chosen.

[Ms Bear]

Congratulations Diane.  Enjoy.

[Janet Harrington]

Congratulations to all of you.

[Diane Amberg]

Thank you. We had a delightful day. It got up to almost 70, so we made time to walk on the boardwalk before we drove back up here. The sun was wonderful and the ocean was calm and nice. It sure didn't seem like February. We'll probably pay for that later!
Very few of the board walk shops are open this time of year. The saltwater taffy place was open, but I managed to fight off temptation.
  The lunch and awards presentation was very nice. A number of people and groups were honored and we were given a nice plaque to put on the fire house wall. They some how came up with a history of all the things I had done for them over the past 32 years, and I must admit it did sound impressive. I had to remind myself it was me they were talking about! Of course the award was for all of us ,not just me, as we have all done a lot to support their programs for a very long time. It was nice for us all to be recognized.

[Teresa]

We're going to go to Ashleys PE night tonight at the high school gym..
Then tomorrow we'll be going to Caney to attend her BB games that she plays in all day.. then in the evening my children and family is taking me out for my birthday supper to Sedan to eat at the steak and rib place that they have on the corner north of town.  Then, if the girls win their games on Saturday, it will be back to Caney on Sunday to watch her play some more. ((Its going to be a nice non-working weekend for a change.. ))