Things that make you go hmmm.: March 2006

Friday, March 31, 2006

Ribs and Apples

Sounds good. Did the title make you hungry? Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm going to talk about the two parts of our bodies that are associated with Adam. Also, there may be some misconceptions or legends related to these two body parts. Have you ever heard or believed that men have one less rib than women or that women aren't supposed to have an Adam's apple?

There is a legend that men have one rib fewer than women, and originates from the Bible's description of the creation of Eve (from the rib of Adam). Both sexes have the same number of ribs. A possible explanation of the myth is that missing floating ribs occur more often in women.

Have you ever seen a woman that may have some masculine features and you notice that she has a prominent Adam's apple so you conclude that she has to really be a man. Not so quick. The larynx grows during puberty in males much more than in females, and as a result the laryngeal prominence more commonly known as the Adam's apple is typically more prominent in adult men than in women or pre-pubescent girls or boys. This growth of the larynx is also the reason for the voice breaking in teenage boys. The laryngeal prominence is obvious in both sexes, but it tends to be larger in the adult male.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Mandisa

Have you seen Mandisa on American Idol? She is awesome and she is a great witness for Christ. Check out her contestant bio on the American Idol website where she names Jesus as her hero as He has saved her life. She also mentions Beth Moore, who is a noted Christian author, teacher, conference leader who founded Living Proof Ministries. Mandisa sang in her praise team. My wife has been to a couple of Beth Moore conferences and remembers Mandisa. It is pretty cool that something so mainstream as this show has not steered away from singers with at least some Christian influence. We like some of the other contestants this year too, but I think we are pulling for Mandisa to be the next American Idol.

Friday, March 24, 2006

My roots are in Texas

My sweet mom wrote me an email the other day telling me about the weather down in Texas where they live and where I grew up and I'm sure used that as an excuse to get in another jab at me for moving away from home, now being the only one of their kids who doesn't live in the great state of Texas. I thought my response was pretty clever, trying to inject some humor.

----- Original Message -----
From: Mom
To: whaaaat!
Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 2:36 PM
Subject: Texas

Hi whaaaat, how is it there? Coooollld here, but very little snow. Those in NM getting several inches.

I just sent a deal to your home about Texas. Don't forget your roots are in TEXAS!

----- My Response -----
From: whaaaat
To: Mom
Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2006 2:45 PM
Subject: Re: Texas

Howdy Ma,
I ain't forgot that I were born and raised down yonder.
Ya'll are downright cold are ya?

We have been having typical spring weather, sunny and in the 60s.

So that's where I left my roots. No wonder I don't have any hair on top anymore. : )
Love, whaaaat!

No, this isn't me. I'm much better looking. : )
Actually, I have a little bit more hair on top, but not much.

Tuesday, March 21, 2006

The UPS guy with attitude

Have you ever surprised yourself in how you respond to something or someone? I did the other day. A UPS delivery guy showed up at our little office that is connected by a shared kitchen and bathrooms (see Potty-Talk # 3 ) with another small office behind us. He had a hand cart stacked with four boxes of various sizes. He just says "where do you want 'em". So I say "are they for My Company's Name or are they for The Other Company's Name" which is what I usually ask so if they are for the other company the delivery guy can just take it straight back and have them sign for their own deliveries. He says they are for us, so I look at the one on top and it clearly says The Other Company's Name. So I tell him so and he gets clearly agitated and says they just have the shared address and he wasn't told there were different offices. Clearly he was a new guy or just filling in since the other FedEx, DHL, and regular UPS guys never have any problem. Anyway, he acts all upset and wants me to just sign so he can drop them off and get on his way. Not wanting to have to carry all these boxes back to The Other Company, I look at them and see that there is one box that is for My Company and the other three large boxes are for The Other Company. So I say I will sign for this one, but the other ones are theirs. He basically says "what's the difference, just sign so I can get going" and obviously has attitude. Don't most of the delivery guys usually show at least some common courtesy? And usually they are extra friendly which makes sense since there is so much competition in their business. Well this guy wasn't friendly at all and all of a sudden I found myself saying "what's your deal?" and he looks at me and says "what do you mean?" so I say "you sure have attitude" which surprises him and he quickly changes his tune and says he's not trying to have attitude, and proceeds to change his little scanner so I can just sign for the one box.

What is funny is that another service guy had come in to service our AC units and he heard this whole thing. I wondered if he was a little scared of how I was going to treat him. A few minutes later he stopped by my office on the way out and says that I was right about the UPS guy being a jerk because apparently he overheard him being rude to the Other Company employees when he gave them their packages too.
I wonder if the UPS guy told all his delivery compadres "Don't mess with the guy at My Company Name". That's right, don't come to me with attitude, I'll set you straight.

Here are some pictures that I found at yotophoto that I thought could be a "humorous" depiction of my response to the UPS guy with attitude:

Yes, I have super powers to melt delivery trucks.
Of course, this would be the expected response, just switch to Fed Ex.

I guess we could install a bell like this one and add Only "if it is for My Company Name and if you don't have attitude".

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Happy one year blogiversary ttmyghmmm!

Yes, it is hard to believe that I started this blog one year ago tomorrow. My family members who first got me started have quit posting on their blogs and some of their blogs have disappeared completely. I took a break for awhile and am now just sporadic in posting. I still read most of my favorite blogs (some of them have stopped posting too), but I rarely comment any more which is probably why not many of them visit or comment here. So, any suggestions for this blog? Do any of you like reading it? How could it be better?

Today is also the birthday of someone who is very special. Happy birthday!!!

I thought this picture was hilarious --->. Wow, how old do you think that person was whose cake caught on fire? A few too many candles don't you think? About time to start using those big number candles.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

A truly significant claim related to the aforementioned Rattlesnake Mountain

I know in my previous post I was joking about the "significant claim" of Rattlesnake Mountain being the tallest treeless mountain in... somewhere, well I can make a truly remarkable claim that is somewhat related to Rattlesnake Mountain. No, I have never climbed it. I can brag that my son has played T-ball with the daughter of a professional football player. Not just any pro football player, but a 12 year veteran defensive tackle for the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. Whaaaat?! How does that relate to Rattlesnake Mountain? Well, Kimo Von Oelhoffen and his family spend their offseason in the same area that we live and our kids played on the same YMCA T-ball team a couple years ago. Maybe even more impressive is that my wife went to high school with Kimo's wife, so we would spend some time talking with them as we cheered on our kids. Ok, still don't get how that relates to the mountain. Kimo opened a really neat restaurant here that used to be called Rattlesnake Mountain Brewing Company. I think he must have bought the name as well as the restaurant/brewery because he still uses the name. Impressed?

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

The Tallest Treeless Mountain

This is a picture of nearby Rattlesnake Mountain in Washington. It is the tallest mountain in the world. Wait, that's not right. It is the tallest treeless mountain in the world. The whole world? Ok, maybe it is the tallest treeless mountain in the Western hemisphere. Maybe it is just in North America. Perhaps it is the tallest in the "lower 48" states. Anyway, what a claim!!! I have read each of these claims about it being the tallest treeless mountain in the world, the Western hemisphere, North America, and the "lower 48" at different places in brochures and on the internet. I also read that it has an elevation of 3,630 feet, 3,600 feet, and 3,560 feet. You would think with such a significant claim that those making the claim would get it right. I guess it goes to show you that it's not really that significant of a claim.

Wednesday, March 01, 2006

The Amazing Race in Sao Paulo, Brazil

My favorite reality show was on last night. The Amazing Race. Most of the show took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This is a huge city of around 10 million people which makes it the most populous city in Brazil and in all of South America. The greater metropolitan area of 18-20 million makes it one of the most populous areas on earth behind Tokyo with estimated populations similar to Mexico City, New York, and Mumbai (Bombay) India. But how much do you know about this huge city? Obviously, some of the teams last night didn't know much about it as they kept calling it San Paulo. If you are like me, you probably don't know that much about it either, but my wife and I probably know a little more than some since we had a friend in college who was a MK (missionary kid) who lived there and her parents were still serving there while she was in college. Also, our church took a mission trip there not too long ago. Do you know anything about this city? One thing I do remember that makes you go hmmm is that you don't want to give the OK sign where you touch your thumb to your index finger with the other three fingers in the air. Whaaaat! That's right, apparently in Brazil it is the same as gesturing to someone with your middle finger extended.

Things that make you go hmmm.