African Violets

I love African Violets but I have not had much success with them. I don't know how many pots I have killed and the two surviving ones look miserable. They have not flowered in the last few years. I continue to keep them on my kitchen window sill because they are still alive!


Do they look pitiful or what?! You think they look like that because I never fertilize them? Could be, eh. Haha.

A few weeks ago, I saw several pots of African Violets at the local supermarket. I wanted to get more than one pot, but resisted, and brought one pot home instead. So far they are still alive! I was afraid that the moment I brought it into the house it will die on me!


This is a pretty color. There were several colors to choose from, and after picking up and putting down a few, I finally decided on this one. I think I should start fertilizing it every couple of weeks or so, so they will bloom constantly. If it doesn't die on me before it has a chance to re-bloom, that is!

Any tips on keeping African Violets healthy, anyone?

A grandma in court

Lawyers should never ask a Mississippi grandma a question if they aren't prepared for the answer.

In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand. He approached her and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know me?'

She responded, 'Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the brains to realize you'll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.'

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, 'Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?'

She again replied, 'Why yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was a
youngster, too. He's lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can't build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.'

The defense attorney nearly died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said, 'If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I'll send you both to the electric chair.'

Love and Sex with Robots

Huh?

No, you did not read that title wrong!

This morning I was listening to the Laura Ingraham show and she had David Levy, the author of Love and Sex with Robots as her guest. It was a fascinating interview and I don't doubt that some people will prefer robots to humans for love and sex.

No, not the normal healthy people who can develop relationships with other humans, but for those who are awkward and can't form relationships with other humans for one reason or another.

I just saw the interview that Stephen Colbert did with David Levy. Now that was one funny interview because Colbert just had to interject his wisecracks into the interview! You can watch the video of that interview here.

I can see Japan as the leader in using robots as companions because Japan is one country that has a serious declining population problem. There are just not enough young people to look after their aging population.

Riz Khan also interviewed David Levy on his Al Jazeera show. It was a good interview but the focus was less on the topic of the book and more on the use of robots in general.

One of the questions that a viewer of the show asked was, "I am a Muslim. Will I be allowed to have four robots?"



A more entertaining and thought provoking interview can be found on New Scientist Technology Blog.

Can you see yourself having sex with a robot?

Goose Eggs Galore

It's goose egg laying season! This year will be the third year for the mother goose and the second year for the kids. For laying eggs, that is.

Last year we had more eggs than we could consume, and we gave away most of them. We are not going to let the eggs hatch, you know why! Inbreeding!

Just to show you the size of the goose eggs compared to the chicken eggs.

Want to know exactly how big they are? Doug suggested I take a picture of the eggs next to a measuring tape!

We've given away some of the eggs to our kids' teachers, and also to Doug's colleagues.

Goose eggs are rich - the egg yolk is thick and dark orange. Not everyone likes them. I made banana bread recently and instead of using two chicken eggs, I used one goose egg. Yummy!

Too bad you guys do not live around here. Otherwise, you'll get to enjoy some of our goose eggs too!