MY LIFE - A hectic morning...

POLITICS - Doing it for them!

CULTURE/SOCIETY - 11 Sounds That Your Kids Have Probably Never Heard

Who knew that some noises could eventually become as extinct as the passenger pigeon? Depending on your age, you or your kids or grandchildren may have only heard some of the following sounds in old movies, if at all.

1. ROTARY DIAL TELEPHONE

The formerly familiar swooosh as the caller rotated the dial clockwise to the "finger stop" and then the click-click-click as the dial returned counter-clockwise to the start position is now a novelty application that you can install on your iPhones for nostalgic yuks. Adolescents waiting in line nearby will wonder what the heck that sound is, while we older fogies will know you're poking fun at us and our ancient ways.

2. MANUAL TYPEWRITER

Manual typewriters had an entire subset of unique sounds that made them immediately identifiable...at one time. The keys clacked loudly as they struck the paper, the carriage lifted up with a distinct clunk when the shift key was employed, and then there was the ping of the bell warning you that you were nearing the end of the line. That meant you had to lift your left hand from the keyboard and swipe at the carriage return lever, which caused a sort of ziiiiip noise as you pushed the carriage back to the starting position.

6. RECORD CHANGER

Record changers allowed you to stack a selection of albums of 45s (seven-inch singles, not guns!) for your longer-term listening pleasure. Each record would make a soft slap sound as it dropped onto the turntable, a series of clicks followed as the remaining records adjusted into place and the tone arm swung over and lowered the needle into the outer grooves of the record. You'd hear the slightest scritch noise as the stylus settled just so into the vinyl and then (finally!) the music began.

10. FILM PROJECTOR

One of the jobs of the classroom A/V squad captain was to run the film projector on movie days. The rapid tick-tick-tick of the sprockets really was that loud and usually accompanied by shouts of "Turn it up!" and, of course, "Focus!"

11. BROKEN RECORD

Remember when you'd beg mom over and over for something and she'd finally yell, "You sound like a broken record!"? She wasn't referring to pops or hisses, but the repetitive effect that happened when the needle got stuck and played the same few notes over and over and over again.

If you're not afraid of revealing your true age, let us know how many of these you remember from your past!

http://mentalfloss.com/article/29230/11-sounds-your-kids-have-probably-never-heard

HUMOR - Coping with the Iowa cold!

I found one way to cope when it gets really cold in Iowa. I have the coldest cities in America and the world listed on my weather app so I can see people who have it worse!

MY LIFE - Why I shouldn't be taken to church!

Sigh!

Okay, so I'm at my wife's church. Her parents are there. Me, my daughter, and her son are listening to her sing a hymn in her lovely operatic soprano on front of the whole church.

What happens right in the middle? Out of my pocket comes a loud trilling noise that sounds like a cartoon character tiptoeing, as the alarm, that I thought I put on silent, goes off for the whole church to hear!

Sigh!

MY LIFE: Like father, like daughter!

http://t.imehop.com/SbLLVd

MY LIFE: Being ornery with a text conversation

Text conversation...
Him: Hey
Me: Hi
Him: Sup?
Me: Nothing. Who is this?
Him: The white knight
Me: Okay....?
Him: B*** C***
Me: I think you have the wrong number
Him: Isn't this J***!
Me: J*** from L***? Listens to screamo?
Him: Yea we had study hall together. Mr V***?
Me: No, I don't know who you're talking about.
Me: Do you know a girl named t***?
Me: Blonde? Nerdy? Spider-Man fan?
Him: Oh most defiantly
Me: No, I don't know her.
(pause)
Me: You got J***'s dad! I'll tell her you texted. She's not here.
Him: Oh awkward..... Lol she calls me the white knight because of my skin color. Lol thanks.
Me: No problem. Just giving you a bad time. I'll tell her you texted.
Him: Thanks.

MY LIFE: My daughter actually did this once! The acorn doesn't fall from the tree.

SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY: Now 4 billion people know the joy of txt - The humble SMS is 20 years old

http://m.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/may/06/sms-text-messages-20th-birthday?cat=technology&type=article

MY LIFE: My Daughter Must Have Had Fun

This started out as a tweet for my Twitter page, but it just became too long. - OlderMusicGeek

Well, my daughter obviously had fun at the overnight camping trip that her after school program had organized. I don't think they camped per se, but rather slept in cabins. But I don't know because I haven't had a chance to talk to her about it. Why haven't I had a chance? Well, let me tell you.

She got home yesterday afternoon and went to her mom's place. I went over to her mom's place later in the early evening to pick her up.

I knocked on the door and there was no answer. So I knocked again. Still no answer. I texted my daughter letting her know I was there. No reply. I called her cell. I got the voice mail. I called her mom's land line. I got the answering machine. I left a message saying I had been there and that I'd see her at home. - I only live a block away. - I tried knocking one more time, but of no avail.

My daughter had sent me a text earlier in the day asking if she could spend the night with a friend. So I called the friend's mother. She said my daughter wasn't there and hadn't even heard about her spending the night. She asked me worriedly where I thought my daughter could be. I casually said she probably just fell asleep and didn't hear me knock.

And sure enough, 45 minutes later, my daughter comes strolling into our apartment saying she had fallen asleep and didn't hear me knock... or call... or text. I told her I assumed as much and didn't worry about then.

Unfortunately, somebody did. We got a call about a half hour later from the mother of the friend asking with concern if I heard from my daughter and knew where she was. I told her she was home and had fallen asleep before, and I apologized for not letting her know.

As for my daughter, when she got to my place, she immediately plopped on the couch and watched tv... and fell asleep shortly thereafter. I suggested she go to her bedroom and watch tv there... twice. Both times, she mumbled something back incomprehensible and fell asleep again within ten minutes.

The third time, I finally made her get up and go to her bedroom.

Then when I went to bed, I checked in on her. She lying fully dressed on a pile of blankets with her glasses on and her mouth open and a bit of dribble coming down. I grabbed what bit of the blanket was loose and covered her up. That woke her up enough to take off her glasses and get covered properly.

And she continued to sleep until I had to leave for work at 7:30 the next morning when I woke her to send her to her mom's. And she barely woke up then!

More posts on my daughter

Post On Another Blog

"TELEVISION/VIDEOS and COMICS: The Hulk Out List" on OlderMusicGeek's Stupid Entertainment Stuff

CULTURE/SOCIETY: My "Tweets" From Twitter

Oh my god! I didn't know Twitter didn't keep all of our "tweets" indefinitely! So I'm posting mine here. - OlderMusicGeek

boy, my daughter was mad at me! i told the whole family how a boy bought her a sundae at dairy queen - just like in that tv commercial! 07:33 AM May 28, 2008 from web

and yesterday, i got a stern lecture from her about keeping private things private! so what i do? post it on twitter! :D 07:32 AM May 28, 2008 from web

some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed - p.o'ed daughter, crappy internet, messed computer at work, 3 blackouts before 9!, etc! 10:18 AM May 27, 2008 from web

doing quick checks on my email, myspace-http://www.myspace.com/olde... and twitter before the internet goes wonky again! 12:39 PM May 26, 2008 from web

my internet is acting funky again! still going slower than normal. urgh! it started less than 2 hours after the repairs! 01:54 PM May 25, 2008 from web

@juice_brianne (in homer voice with drool slobbering out of my mouth) mmmmm pancakes! 01:53 PM May 25, 2008 from web in reply to juice_brianne

juice_brianne my mom is making me pancakes! 10:41 AM May 25, 2008 from web

yoohoo! my internet was just fixed! can listen to streaming music while doing stuff on the internet! yeehaw! now if it just stays this way! 04:01 PM May 24, 2008 from web

my stepdad told me that my mom thought the car wasn't my type-too sporty. i said any car in my price range that runs well is my kind of car! 03:07 PM May 24, 2008 from web

it seems everyone is agreeing - my daughter's friend said, "you're right. this car is too cool for your dad!" 02:50 PM May 24, 2008 from web

@juice_brianne - how about spending it on a phone? so are you a volunteer working for free at juice - or do they actually pay you? :) 03:04 PM May 21, 2008 from web in reply to juice_brianne

juice_brianne I just won a really lovely award and am going to spend my $$$ on a camera. Best model under $250? 02:55 PM May 21, 2008 from TwitterFox

i didnt mention my daughter's favorite part of our new car-the sunroof! she used it a lot until i told her to pick a setting and leave it! 01:58 PM May 21, 2008 from web

@juice_brianne - good lord! you do live in a cave! we'll have to start calling you wilma or betty! or something like oog ahg ahg! 12:10 PM May 21, 2008 from web in reply to juice_brianne

juice_brianne @OlderMusicGeek I don't even have a landline...or Cable...or the internet (OK, I steal that...) 10:12 AM May 21, 2008 from web in reply to OlderMusicGeek

and want the car lacks in head room, it makes up in trunk space! you could stick 3, 4 bodies back there - probably 5 if you pushed hard! 10:12 AM May 21, 2008 from web

just got title registered with the county and got new plates for my new car! woot! 10:11 AM May 21, 2008 from web

@juice_brianne - drop your landline and just go cell phone! 10:10 AM May 21, 2008 from web in reply to juice_brianne

yay! got a new car! and it only comes from the last decade! :) in fact, it isn't even a decade old! 08:03 AM May 21, 2008 from web

and i can't deal with my occasion bouts of insomnia without internet! 10:13 AM May 20, 2008 from web

argh! internet dead slow this morning! got to be the connection cus the computer ran sooooo fast at my friend's -and he has meadiacom too! 09:14 AM May 20, 2008 from web

@gracewilson - if i'm on the computer, i'm usually listening to my pandora station - http://tinyurl.com/5crg39 07:58 PM May 19, 2008 from web in reply to GraceWilson

showed my daughter a movie of my younger days - wizards - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizards_(film). she said it was weird but she wasnt impressed. 07:13 AM May 19, 2008 from web

i have to admit i liked "wizards" better in my 20s in a theater at midnight with fellow fans than watching on tv in my 40s with my daughter. 07:12 AM May 19, 2008 from web

the computer is working better, but not as well as when i had it hooked up at my friend's house on the west side! urgh! curse you mediacom! 08:34 PM May 18, 2008 from web

pray to the computer gods! cross your fingers! i'm taking my computer to my friend's to be fixed! maybe i'll have reliable internet again! 08:27 AM May 18, 2008 from web

clark kent from the metropolis newspaper, daily planet, actually has a twitter account. so far, it's kind of cool! - under clarkkentplanet 05:43 PM May 16, 2008 from web

@juice_brianne - what do you know about 1992? how old were you? 6? :) clinton ran against dole that year - i think it was that year? 05:37 PM May 16, 2008 from web in reply to juice_brianne

tweens! aaaaargh! how am i going to deal with when she's a teenager?! 08:02 AM May 16, 2008 from web

i'm going to homer-strangle my daughter one day. she was only half making sense, so i ask some questions. "Forget it! I can't talk to you!" 08:01 AM May 16, 2008 from web

@bbrown777-are you the "random list of things" gal? if twitters haven't seen it, check it at http://randomlistsofthings.... 07:37 AM May 16, 2008 from web in reply to bbrown777

i don't know what happened yesterday-but i jumped from only 1 follower to 5! if it keeps up at this rate, i'll be the most popular twitter! 03:30 AM May 16, 2008 from web

@juice_brianne - thanks for following my twit - you doubled the number of followers i have! *waves at jord lewis* 02:09 PM May 15, 2008 from web in reply to juice_brianne

yay to the california court for standing up against discrimination! 02:01 PM May 15, 2008 from web

my daughter is such a tween-any mention of balls becomes a joke-and when i mentioned how i like chicken breasts, i got a big ewwwwww! 01:47 PM May 15, 2008 from web

listened to the raveonettes 1st cd "whip it on" and new cd "lust lust lust"-not as good as "pretty in black" but both are 8's or solid B's! 09:11 PM May 14, 2008 from web

to help my ex - who's going to school days and working nights - i agree to take our daughter tues-sat night! ugh! no weekends for a while! 11:33 AM May 14, 2008 from web

stuck using the library computers - and the work computer during break and lunch - to keep up on reading emails and blogs! ugh! 06:46 PM May 13, 2008 from web

CULTURE/SOCIETY and SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY: Bring Back the Busy Signal

This is a piece of Ira Flatow, the host of Talk of the Nation: Science Friday on NPR, from the Science Friday blog. I don't know if I agree with him. I know I don't feel guilty about sending people to voice mail if I'm on the phone or busy. I never take another call unless I'm sure it's important. I guess it's all how you use technology. But I thought Ira makes some good points, so I'm reprinting it here. - OlderMusicGeek

Bring Back the Busy Signal
posted by Ira Flatow on Thursday, July 12. 2007

Not too long after 9/11 , I did away with “call-waiting.” My priorities changed. I no longer felt the urgency to interrupt a perfectly good conversation with “can I put you on hold for a minute while I get this?” I could devote my total attention to the call at hand and not have to feel pressured. It made life simpler:

At first, I thought I’d have to apologize. But the very first caller applauded my decision. Instead of anger, the excited voice on the other end expressed amazement.

“You have a busy signal,” she said. “When I called and tried to get through I didn’t get your voice mail box, or a recorded message telling me to leave a message, to take a hike. I got that beep-beep-beep of a busy-signal, I hadn’t heard in years. No one has a busy-signal any more, except YOU!”

I sort of knew that when I brought back my busy signal, I’d have a lot of explaining to do. so I was ready.

“That’s right,” I said. “I disconnected my call waiting and went retro. Back to the good old days of the busy-signal.”

If you think about it, the busy-signal makes a definitive statement. It says “yes, I am here, and I am busy,” It doesn’t say “maybe I’m here, screening calls to avoid you.” It’s an honest message, refreshingly honest in this political double-talk era. The busy signal is not pretentious; it doesn’t command attention. It just does it’s job and does it well.

And much to my surprise the busy signal keeps your party interested and prepared. By attesting to the fact that you are there, literally, in your office, the busy signal reassures the caller to “just be patient, try again.” There is no ambiguity. Callers, as this one did, will sit and wait patiently knowing that there is a live body on the other end, waiting to respond. And if they really want to talk to you, they do call back.

Voice mail is a tool for deception. “Gee, I must have missed your voice mail. It never works in my office.” The busy signal takes away temptation; no need to make up a story about pushing the wrong button that “whoops” erased the caller you’re trying to avoid. And no more hating yourself for hanging up on a good call to take one that tried to enlist your vote.

The busy signal is the kind of simple technology we would have to invent if it had never existed. “Wouldn’t it be great if some genius found an automatic way of telling people I’m busy, that I can’t talk now? What a great device that would be.”

So let’s bring back the simple busy signal. It never really went away; it’s just been in storage for a few years while we went on a crazy, heads-in-the-sand binge. But our sanity is finally coming back. And it should be, too.

A link to the original piece on the Science Friday blog
A link to the Science Friday blog
A link to the Science Friday website

CULTURE/SOCIETY: Businessman Starts Santa Claus Hotline after Phone Number Mix-Up

I found this article from the KSBY 6 Action News website in a rather round-about way. I was checking the searches that brought up my site - you can do this with SiteMeter. And this story and my post came up with the search, "1-800-SANTA CLAUS". I thought it was a sweet and good story for Christmas time. :) - OlderMusicGeek

Goleta businessman starts his own Santa Claus hotline after a phone number mix-up

Posted: Dec 7, 2007 08:24 PM
Friday, December 7, 2007
Reported by: Leana Orsua
GOLETA

They thought they were calling Santa Claus, but got a south coast businessman instead.

It's all because the phone numbers "1-800-Santa Claus" and "1-800-Santa Barbara" are only one digit apart.

1-800-Santa Barbara is a visitor information hotline run by John Dickson of Goleta. Last year he was flooded with calls from kids who thought they dialed 1-800-Santa Claus.

Now Dickson is making the most of this merry mix-up.

They were the Christmas calls that kept John Dickson up at night last year.

"But this Christmas Season, kids who misdial 1-800-Santa Claus and reach 1-800-Santa Barbara will be greeted by old Saint Nick.

"I ended up talking to these kids pretty much morning to night for about a whole week just on my own and sat right about here listening to kids all day," recalls Dickson.

Last year he fielded hundreds of Christmas wishes that were supposed to go to the North Pole. But this year there won't be any accidents. He is setting up an official Santa phone center, equipped with Santa, Mrs. Claus and a host of volunteer helpers.

"If you can talk on the phone and have a good heart with children, that's enough," says Dickson.

The call center will be set up here at the Montecito Bank and Trust on State Street. Santa and Mrs. Claus will answer five phone lines, 12 hours each day.

Melissa Mceacheron, who works at the bank will be one of Santa's helpers, "We just thought it was such a nice thing that he was doing for all the kids around the world," she said.

As Dickson gets his helpers ready, he takes a moment to reflect on the rush that's to come. "It was like a slow tidal wave that moved in, a tidal wave of good cheer."

The Santa Call Center will be up and running on December 17. It will run for one week ending on Christmas Eve.

Last year John took in 973 calls, this year he expects to get in the thousands.

That number again, is 1 (800) Santa Barbara.

A link to the original KSBY 6 Action News article

A link to all my Christmas and holiday posts

Happy Christmas and/or Boxing Day and/or Kwanzaa and/or Hannakah and/or Bodhi Day and/or Sanghamitta Day and/or Shabe Cheleh and/or Makara Sankranti and/or Junkanoo and/or Dong Zhi and/or Toji and/or Soyal and/or Yule and/or Seva Zistane and/or Alban Arthan and/or Long Night and/or Mean Geimrech and/or Brumalia and/or Dies Natalis Solis Invicti and/or Saturnalia and/or Lenaea and/or Wren Day and/or Tekufah Tevet and/or Winter Solstice and/or ChriFSMas and/or any other December or winter solstice holidays i missed!

Oh, and Bah Humbug to those who don't celebrate the holidays! :)

HUMOR: Is Mommy Near the Phone?

Another email from Ernest T Spoon. This one is definitely PG-13. :) - OlderMusicGeek

"Hi, Honey, this is Daddy. Is Mommy near the phone?"

"No Daddy. She's upstairs in the bedroom with Uncle Paul."

After a brief pause, Daddy says, "But honey, you haven't got an Uncle Paul."

"Oh yes I do, and he's upstairs in the room with Mommy, right now."

Brief Pause.

"Uh, okay then, this is what I want you to do: Put the phone down on the table, run upstairs and knock on the bedroom door and shout to Mommy that Daddy's car just pulled into the driveway"

"Okay Daddy, just a minute."

A few minutes later the little girl comes back to the phone.

"I did it Daddy."

"And what happened honey?" he asked.

"Well, Mommy got all scared, jumped out of bed with no clothes on and ran around screaming. Then she tripped over the rug, hit her head on the dresser and now she isn't moving at all!"

"Oh my God!!! What about your Uncle Paul?"

"He jumped out of the bed with no clothes on, too. He was all scared and he jumped out of the back window and into the swimming pool. But I guess he didn't know that you took out the water last week to clean it. He hit the bottom of the pool and I think he's dead."

***Long Pause***

***Longer Pause***

***Even Longer Pause***

Then Daddy says, "Swimming pool? Is this 486-5731?"