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Our Daily Thread 11-6-13

Good Morning!

On this day in 1851 Charles Henry Dow was born. He was the founder of Dow Jones & Company.

In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected to be the sixteenth president of the United States.

In 1861 Jefferson Davis was elected as the president of the Confederacy in the U.S.

In 1869 the first official intercollegiate football game was played in New Brunswick, NJ.

In 1923 Jacob Schick was granted a patent for the electric shaver.

In 1952 the first hydrogen bomb was exploded at Eniwetok Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.

And in 1977, 39 people were killed when an earthen dam burst, sending a wall of water through the campus of Toccoa Falls Bible College in Georgia.

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Quote of the Day

“If you treat your wife like a thoroughbred, you’ll never end up with a nag.”

Zig Ziglar

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Today is John Philip Sousa’s birthday. Since I think these two groups of folks play it better than most, we’ll go with them.

First up, The United States Army Field Band playing “Stars and Stripes Forever.”

And then we have The United States Marine Band, with “The Liberty Bell.”

Today is also Kenny Marks’ birthday.

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Anyone have a QoD for us?

49 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 11-6-13”

  5. Checking to make sure no water comes into our house — vacuuming the garage steps as needed to keep the water out of the basement. It appears to have stopped, so I might head back to bed soon. I don’t feel tired at the moment, but I’m probably going to need a nap sometime today, after having gotten only about 4-5 hours of sleep before getting up.

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  6. 6 Arrows, your rain story reminded me of the first thunderstorm we had here in our new house. We were lying in bed watching the lightening and hubby said, “I’m really enjoying this.” I asked if he meant watching the light show and he said, “No, it’s the first time in 33 years that I didn’t have to worry about the basement flooding.”

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  10. Cook it? 😯

    Figures……

    I have a serious craving for a sausage McMuffin with egg this morning. But I can’t eat those no more. But I want to, oh do I want to. 😦

    So… Yay. Oatmeal it is. Again 😦

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  11. I have missed some days here and do not know if Common Core may have been discussed. We are working hard to get it out of Georgia. Some people are not concerned enough to try and fight it because they are homeschooling or are currently satisfied with the school their child attends. Common Core is just another way to dumb down our nation. I encourage everyone to engage on this issue if you have the opportunity so our communities can be inhabited by smarter rather tan dumber citizens (and let’s not leave out non-citizens).

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  12. “rather tan dumber citizens” will surely engage the PC police. Of course I meant “rather than” but I am on the Smart Phone and am keyboard challenged.

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  13. Linda, ahhh… maybe someday we’ll be able to say that, too. We used to have a lot worse problem with water in the basement until hubby did a lot of work on the outside of the house earlier this year, I think, digging a trench around the house, sloping the dirt away from it so the water wouldn’t come in, etc., and it seemed to work. Although the weather was quite dry this summer, we’ve had some fast, heavy rains since then, and we had no problem at all with the water getting in, so we thought the problem was solved.

    But now after yesterday’s slow, all-day rain, it’s back in. We can see a crack in the concrete at the bottom of the garage steps into the house, and the water comes up through there. Always something.

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  14. AJ, have you tried gluten-free oatmeal? I like the texture a lot better than regular oatmeal. Not nearly so mushy. I could eat the GF variety almost every day and not get sick of it.

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  15. It is a protein shake for me again today. I am doing this 90 health challenge. So far I have discovered that I am weak willed and easily influenced.
    Have you ever been around someone who resists EVERYTHING you tell them to do? How do you handle this person, especially if you are in a position of “coaching” them. An agent came to another agent and me asking to work with us. I set him up with some things to do. He hasn’t done a one fo them and has run off two buyers we gave him. Then had the audacity to pout about it.

    Other than that life is looking pretty good. We hung more pictures last night. Somebody, and I am not saying who, likes palm trees and nautical stuff.

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  16. I’m trying t figure something out and was wondering if any of you had ever been in this situation. The Kid has gotten in trouble in school several times this year and years pass for pushing, shoving and hitting. He always tells the same story, that the other kid hits, shove first and when he hits or shoves back they tattle or yell and he alone gets in trouble. I don’t believe he is telling an outright lie. because he doesn’t seem worried when I threaten to talk to witness and yesterday another boy in his class agreed that in the latest incident the other kid did shove first. It is very possible that he is exaggerating the degree of their shove vs. his shove. If I go to the teacher and tell her what he is telling me I will look like one of those parents who thinks their child can do no wrong but I really need to know what is going on in order to know what to do. Is he a lair and a bully or is he being bullied and picked on?

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  17. Kbells, if it only happens at school and not in other group situations then I would think you have grounds to at least bring it up with the teacher. Would it be possible for you or a friend to volunteer to help out in the classroom to observe interactions between the students and teacher to see if the teacher is not observant of the whole scenario before the tattler gets to spin his story?

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  18. Kbells, I think talking to the teacher about it would be appropriate and would be well-received if you approached it like you did in your post. In other words, just describe what you are hearing and ask for her advice on how to address it.

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  20. Kbells, from classroom experience, the teachers who are good and doing their job are focused on what they are teaching and try to ignore distractions hoping they will resolve themselves. The tattler is not allowing a push back to go unnoticed. Contrary to popular belief, most teachers don’t have eyes in the back of their heads. Only a blessed few do, LOL. So if parents can volunteer to be another set of eyes for the teacher it is a great help and deterant for these such behaviors. Even in Sunday School we have had occasion in the past to bring in a male influencer to help with rowdy boys. What a difference that can make if one is avaiable. Son little fellows based on culture or lack of a dad at home have no respect for their lady teachers. That can be a factor, too.

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  22. From experience, there was a boy in third grade that picked on me. I didn’g take it. My mother told me to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. He hit me. I hit back. We both got in trouble. I explained to the teacher I was only following the Golden Rule. She explained that Jesus taught us to turn the other cheek. She also had us sit side by side. We were only allowed to each lunch with each other and at the end of each day we had to say three nice things about the other. Perhaps you could suggest this to the teacher as a remedy when The Kid gets in trouble?

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  24. My theory is that owning a home ruins any enjoyment of a good rain storm.

    It’s a hard-boiled egg for me this morning (and I cook extra because the dogs also like them). I’m also making use of protein shakes here and there lately and just bought some fresh veggies the other night that I’m taking to work every day.

    My election night didn’t go too late — I filed the final version of my story at 11:30 p.m. when all of the city’s 16 precincts were accounted for. And I’m grateful they let me do it from home.

    But I’m tired this morning and have a meeting to go cover; plus today is a conference call on our JFK coverage, I seem to be doing the overall story for all the papers so am busy trying to find folks to interview. The story’s focus is still a bit hazy in my mind I guess, but maybe it’ll be clarified after the call today.

    I think my mom gave me similar advice to Kim’s mom when my cousin took away my toy while we were visiting my uncle’s farm in Iowa one summer. We were small and the adults were all inside gabbing. I ran in with my complaint and my mom said (or I heard) something about standing up for myself. So I marched back out, let loose with a wide left-hook and decked him pretty good.

    Oh, the wailing. What a crybaby. I got my toy back. But I was in big trouble when all the adults came rushing out to see what the ruckus was all about.

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  25. It’s cold cerial and miik, with banana or blueberries, for me every morning but Saturday. Saturday I get waffles with syrup, and bacon all sorts of stuff I’m not supposed to have.
    I eat the cerial, not because I like it, but it’s something and I can’t afford, physically, all that rich stuff.
    They fed us well in the Air Force, but I was just a scrawny kid in those days.

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  27. I think you’re wise to look into this, KBells. A good chat with the teacher, looking for information and any suggestions she’s got would put the two of you on the same page. Your son would know the two most important women in his life are both aware and have his back, but also are considering whether he may need to make some changes in how he relates to others.

    One of my children was suspended from school for a really stupid behavior that today would send him to reform school. When I asked him why, he said he was trying to get his best friend’s attention.

    I made him write out ten better ways to get his friend’s attention but my husband and I had to have an appointment with the principal and the school counselor.

    I told my husband he had to wear his uniform with all the ribbons, I wasn’t doing this by myself. We got asked a lot of questions that made my blood rile because of the insinuations from the principal.

    (I tell you folks, when “professionals” see a military man with even minor family problems, they assume they’re dealing with the Great Santini. It’s very aggravating and highly unfair).

    In this case, the Chinese principal wanted to bring in our son, tell him what the rules required–suspension from school for two days–and then have us beg him to reconsider.

    We told him no. “Our son understands actions have consequences. What you are suggesting would be detrimental to his maturation. If he needs to be suspended, suspend him. That will make more sense to him, rather than undermining our authority and yours with a bogus attempt at mercy.”

    The haole school counselor pointed out we already had taken some positive remedial steps and suggested we explain the enormity of what he had done, what his consequences could have been and ask him if he’d ever do such a thing again.

    Perhaps this was a cultural difference?

    He came in, was read the rules, got the discussion, was asked the question, apologized and we transferred him out of that school to a private one as soon as we had enough money.

    Kids are stupid sometimes, particularly seven-year-old boys.

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  32. Good Afternoon, Y’all!

    Kimberley and Michelle…I’ll try again. Check your friend requests for one with the opposite initials from this blog…

    or not

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  33. Woke up late today, but now it’s time to fry up a little green pepper and a tiny amount of ham and then fry two eggs over it with one piece of dry toast. That’s my daily breakfast. Have a good day, I’m off to kinder soon. Oh, please pray as I am doing the scholastic Australia book order for the whole school and it is quite complex.

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  38. Mumsee, the story Donna linked adds information to the story Solar Pancake linked. I’d actually wondered how he would support his family (as he still must do), and this story provides the answer . . . though I’m not sure it’s the answer that might be desired by all who do business with Vision Forum.

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  39. Cheryl, thanks. Your comment to Michelle on her correct use of “enormity” prompted me to look it up to see if there was more to the definition than what I thought. I had really only thought it indicated something huge in size or of massive significance in some way. I hadn’t necessarily only associated it with a shocking, evil, immoral or wicked act, but that it could also mean something large in a general sense (like the enormity of a household task, say) without negative connotations.

    I found this usage note interesting, though, at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enormity

    But first, their definition (they give three):

    : a shocking, evil, or immoral act

    : great evil or wickedness

    : great size

    Usage Discussion of ENORMITY

    “Enormity, some people insist, is improperly used to denote large size. They insist on enormousness for this meaning, and would limit enormity to the meaning “great wickedness.” Those who urge such a limitation may not recognize the subtlety with which enormity is actually used. It regularly denotes a considerable departure from the expected or normal . When used to denote large size, either literal or figurative, it usually suggests something so large as to seem overwhelming and may even be used to suggest both great size and deviation from morality . It can also emphasize the momentousness of what has happened or of its consequences .”

    It was interesting to compare the Merriam-Webster dictionary I have at home, which defined “enormity” similarly to the above, and my Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, which did not include a definition similar to the “great size” 3rd definition listed above; all the definitions in the 1828 dictionary were along the lines of immoral, evil things.

    My Merriam-Webster also included a note that using the word “enormousness” had fallen out of favor at some point for some unknown reason, and “enormity” began to be the word that was substituted.

    Interesting how language evolves. It seems that one of the most frequent complaints I hear about using the King James Version of the Bible today is because of similar reasoning: “We don’t use words like that anymore; it’s not understandable because people don’t know what they mean”…etc.

    Like “gay clothing”: James 2:3
    And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:

    Anyway, I’m getting off-topic now, but it is easy to assume that words we’ve heard often in a certain context (like “enormity” meaning large) mean just what we think they mean, when they might mean something different because people don’t understand their historic use.

    Or something like that. 😉

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  40. We’re quite frustrated here today. We had ordered a gel fuel fireplace from Wayfair.com and they had included all the duty, taxes, shipping etc for our shipping address. Yesterday we received and email from them that due to the fact the nearest city was deemed out of the way, they would be adding another $150 to our credit card. Our order would be on hold until we responded if this was okay. We replied within 15 minutes that this was not acceptable and would only want the order if they would send it without the extra charges. Today they responded that it was too late, our order had already been shipped.

    Anyone have any ideas for recourse?

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  41. 6 Arrows, here’s another: it seems like most people (or at least many) think of the word “prodigal” as meaning a wanderer who has rejected his parents’ authority. And yet the original meaning was “spendthrift,” and the other meaning of “prodigal” apparently was added only after people mistakenly thought “the prodigal son” was referring to his leaving home, not to his wastefulness. Now both meanings are in the dictionary, but you most commonly hear “prodigal” with the newer meaning.

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  42. Inbutnotof. Please send the request again. You are Facebook friend with make It man and I didn’t recognize it. I have been hacked recently so I said not now. You can have a j forward your email to me and I will find you. Now that I know I will accept the request. I

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  43. Kare, was the order placed via credit card? Tell your credit card company that the additional $150 was not authorized by you, and then they should take it off. You probably should then tell the company you have done so, and leave it up to them whether to hold to the original agreement or cancel the order.

    I had to do that once, and it went through fine. I then told the company that had refused to cancel an additional month’s service that I had not authorized that in trying to continue to charge me after I said no, they had lost not only my business but my goodwill. (I had not authorized automatic billing, and didn’t check that e-mail account very often, so I noticed it one day into the new sevice month that they had billed me for an additional month beyond the three months I’d paid for. Since I wasn’t using the service and it was only one day in, and I had never authorized an additional month, I wasn’t willing to accept the company’s claim that “it’s impossible to cancel after you’ve already started the new month.” Plus I was earning hardly any income that month, and wasn’t willing to send them any of it!)

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  45. Kare, are you sure they charged you the extra amount? Maybe since you declined the extra charge but it was already shipped they will let it go. Otherwise, I guess they’d have to figure out a way to retrieve it or pay for having it returned.

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  48. Interesting about “prodigal”, Cheryl. So much good stuff to learn at this blog. 😉

    My brain is full now — may I be excused? 🙂

    Off to bed now. Good night, fellow wanderers. I’m going to try my best to not be first again tomorrow. 😉

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