Special FRI edition of Whatever Wednesday

Two disclaimers:  

1. Today's post may seem a little random. I blame sleep deprivation.
2. I also blame indecisiveness. I couldn't make up my mind whether to make the tone of this post more serious or stick to familiar ground.

G.O.M.E.R. *

When I was working on my typical plethora of Christmas cards & letters, wouldn't you know that there were no address labels to be found in our house. I had to hand-write all the return addresses on all the envelopes. This may not seem like a burden to you, but it's especially challenging when someone's hand-writing has been compared to physicians', which is to say, not necessarily in a complimentary way. So, wouldn't you know, just in the last month we have received address labels from the American Heart Association, Southwest Indian Reservation Aid, Concordia University Nebraska in Seward, St. Jude's Children's Hospital, AAA Life Insurance Co., & the VFW. ** 
* Grumpy Old Men & Their Elucidating Rants
** True confession time. I never feel guilty about using labels from organizations that do not receive a donation from Lois & me. I consider the labels to be gifts. ***
*** Maybe I should start working on my 2018 mailing?

Devotional Thought

Once again as I was in "quiet time" the other morning, I came across this excerpt from Arrows of Light: Devotions for Worldwide Christians, by David Schneider. Morris Publishing, 2005. It touched me, because I try to pray for all of my children & grand-children every day.

"As Christian parents [& grandparents], we want our youngsters to grow strong & tall in body, mind, & spirit. We pray that they receive the love of God in Christ, so that they live in confidence. We rejoice when they learn to handle money honestly. We want them to excel but not to be ruthlessly competitive. We hope they learn to express love to their dear ones & to be gracious to people who disagree with them. We want them to control their use of alcohol & their emotions, especially anger. That's all. Just a few simple goals (smile)."

Politics? Seriously??

I stopped making New Year's resolutions some time ago, because more often than not I'd make a good resolution only to fail at it even while the New Year was still new. [Example:  giving up french fries] However, I did sort of, kind of, halfway resolve NOT to focus on political blog topics this yeare, mainly for the sake of my mental health. Well, events of the past week or so left me feeling STRONGLY compelled to say something. However, I am going to refrain at least for now. I think that my blog readership is not so interested in my personal political agenda. Let me know if you'd like me to pontificate on issues such as gun control, climate change, treaties with sworn enemies of the U.S. . . . I'm willing to reconsider.

Whatever:  Special Friday Edition

Billy Graham died this past week. Lutherans & others often took issue w/his altar calls & decision-theology, but he was a man of God whose words & actions reflected his love for humankind & his desire--also his heavenly Father's--to share the Good News of forgiveness & salvation through Jesus Christ to as many people possible. His lifestyle was a testament to his commitment to the Lord, which stood out in sharp contrast to many other popular evangelists.

Omaha World Herald (11/18/17):  "No answers in elephant's death. The Henry Doorly Zoo & Aquarium has received results from Warren's necropsy, 2 months after the young African elephant died. His cause of death:  undetermined." COMMENT:  This would make a great story-line for NCIS New Orleans, right?

OWH (11/20/17):  "Ferry McFerryface to ply Sydney Harbor waters. A new Sydney (Australia) Harbor ferry will be christened Ferry McFerryface--Sydney's 2nd-favorite choice after the now-famous jokey Mcmoniker, Boaty McBoatface . . . " COMMENT:  All the more reason for Lois & me to add Australia to our bucket list.

OWH (12/4):  "Waffle House cook slept, so man made own meal. When a man found the only worker at an empty South Carolina Waffle House asleep, he took his meal into his own hands . . . Alex Bowen chronicled w/selfies how he made his own double Texas Cheesesteak Melt w/bacon at the famous Southern 24-7 diner about 2 a.m." COMMENT:  Maybe this is an untapped niche for Waffle House & similar franchises:  DIY meals by customers.

OWH (12/28):  "Your laundry detergent bottle could soon order refill for you. You don't have to ask Alexa, or even push a button. With new devices pioneered by a University of Washington computer science team, battery-less objects made entirely of plastic could communicate with other devices on your home network. For example, a laundry detergent bottle could monitor your detergent use for you--& order more when you're running low . . . " COMMENT:  Does that mean that the last roll of toilet paper in a package could also order more TP when you're running low? Inquiring minds want to know.

St. Paul Pioneer Press (1/18):  "Air Force One fridges $24M . . . Under a new government contract awarded to Boeing, the U.S Air Force will pay the aeronautics behemoth $23,657,671 to replace 2 of the 5 chiller units on the plane currently used by President DT . . . " COMMENT:  No word as to whether these refrigerators could be programmed to talk with the plastic containers found in them. MUSTARD BOTTLE:  Hey! We're almost out of mustard!  AIR FORCE ONE:  Don't worry. We've found a vendor who will sell us a $1M bottle of mustard.

OWH (1/13):  "Consumer Electronics Show:  Whether they catch on or flop, show's products can be entertaining. Internet-connected toilet from Kohler Numi. You can now ask Alexa to flush. Kohler's latest high-end toilet connects to the Internet & responds to voice commands. Beyond flushing, you can ask Amazon's Alexa .   to lift the seat or activate your favorite bidet spray configuration . . . It's $5,625 & up & will be available in the 4th quarter of the year."  COMMENT:  This product will be seriously helpful for people who find manually flushing & lid-closing too strenuous.