OP# 17 - National Quirk Index results

1. In which movie would you have liked to have had a bit part?

a. Star Wars
b. Casablanca
c. The Wizard of Oz
d. Gone with the Wind
e. Ghostbusters

2. Which of these people would you most like to have at your beck and call?

a. chauffeur
b. nanny
c. masseuse
d. gourmet cook

3. Which supernatural power or ability would you most like to have?

a. becoming invisible at will
b. traveling through time
c. mind reading
d. flying

4. Which type of food would be most difficult for you to give up?

a. salty snacks
b. chocolate
c. bread
d. ice cream
e. soda

5. Which of the following would give you the most thrilling sense of accomplishment?

a. running a marathon
b. parachuting
c. climbing Mt. Everest
d. not being tempted to do any of the above

6. Which personal ad would you most likely to answer?

a. Let's party – I love to ski, play tennis and backgammon, dance all night long. Looking for someone into athletics with a great sense of humor who wants plenty of good times.
b. Successful – Hardworking professional looking for same to share wining and dining, droll talk, and travel. If you're ambitious, confident, and sophisticated, I'm yours.
c. Shy and sensitive – Intelligent, well-educated, attractive, with a fondness for museums, early Fellini movies, Beethoven, and English romantic poets. Seeking companion for long walks and talks, Sunday brunch at home with the newspaper.
d. I'm a natural – My idea of pleasure is an all-day hike in the woods or a long walk on an empty beach. Into country living, whole foods, down-to-earth talk, good music, dogs and kids. Looking for the warm, nurturing type.

7. Which of these phenomena do you find most awe-inspiring?

a. lightning
b. sunset
c. volcanic eruption
d. tornado

8. What's your favorite part of going to the beach?

a. sunbathing
b. building sandcastles
c. people-watching
d. swimming
e. sports (Frisbee, volleyball, kite flying, etc.)
f. I don't go to the beach

9. Which of these would you have the most trouble living without?

a. stereo
b. books
c. games and puzzles
d. television

10. What's your favorite way to eat an Oreo?

a. break it in half and lick out the middle
b. break it in half and eat each half separately
c. intact, as a sandwich
d. crumble up in vanilla ice cream

Tips to Better Living #31

Never underestimate your...ahem..."talent"...when photographing yourself or you'll end up accidentally causing your camera to malfunction because it accidentally...got wet...by your "talent".

OP #16 - National Quirk Index...

I decided to do something DIFFERENT...just for you...to have fun with...

In the National Quirk Index back in 1985, GAMES Magazine (renowned for its crosswords and puzzles) surveyed more than its 500 readers with multiple-choice questions and tabulated their answers. GAMES then reprinted the survey questions and choices, and the readers had to guess which answers were the most popular. The score for each choice was the number of surveyed people who had made their choice. How well can you guess the preferences of GAMES readers? Remember, this was published back in 1985.  I scored 1,616 out of possible 1,988 and I'd like to see how YOU did.

1. In which movie would you have liked to have had a bit part?

a. Star Wars
b. Casablanca
c. The Wizard of Oz
d. Gone with the Wind
e. Ghostbusters

2. Which of these people would you most like to have at your beck and call?

a. chauffeur
b. nanny
c. masseuse
d. gourmet cook

3. Which supernatural power or ability would you most like to have?

a. becoming invisible at will
b. traveling through time
c. mind reading
d. flying

4. Which type of food would be most difficult for you to give up?

a. salty snacks
b. chocolate
c. bread
d. ice cream
e. soda

5. Which of the following would give you the most thrilling sense of accomplishment?

a. running a marathon
b. parachuting
c. climbing Mt. Everest
d. not being tempted to do any of the above

6. Which personal ad would you most likely to answer?

a. Let's party – I love to ski, play tennis and backgammon, dance all night long. Looking for someone into athletics with a great sense of humor who wants plenty of good times.
b. Successful – Hardworking professional looking for same to share wining and dining, droll talk, and travel. If you're ambitious, confident, and sophisticated, I'm yours.
c. Shy and sensitive – Intelligent, well-educated, attractive, with a fondness for museums, early Fellini movies, Beethoven, and English romantic poets. Seeking companion for long walks and talks, Sunday brunch at home with the newspaper.
d. I'm a natural – My idea of pleasure is an all-day hike in the woods or a long walk on an empty beach. Into country living, whole foods, down-to-earth talk, good music, dogs and kids. Looking for the warm, nurturing type.

7. Which of these phenomena do you find most awe-inspiring?

a. lightning
b. sunset
c. volcanic eruption
d. tornado

8. What's your favorite part of going to the beach?

a. sunbathing
b. building sandcastles
c. people-watching
d. swimming
e. sports (Frisbee, volleyball, kite flying, etc.)
f. I don't go to the beach

9. Which of these would you have the most trouble living without?

a. stereo
b. books
c. games and puzzles
d. television

10. What's your favorite way to eat an Oreo?

a. break it in half and lick out the middle
b. break it in half and eat each half separately
c. intact, as a sandwich
d. crumble up in vanilla ice cream

Remember, your objective is to guess the most common choices to maximize your score and this was published back in 1985...in the days of Apple personal computers, Amiga, Atari, and others...LONG before the Internet was around...when B.B.S. reigned supreme on 100 baud modems with manual settings. Now, you can post your answers in a comment and I'll respond to your comment with your score. You can post your own personal choices if you like just to see how that stacks up against your guesses. I will respond to your guesses with your score.  I will post the numbers associated with each choice next week. Have fun!

Tips to Better Living #30

Never sneak up to initiate foreplay while your wife is doing chores, she definitely will be in the mood to stick something sharp in you.

OP #15 - I belong to a non-prophet organization...

...and it's called "atheism". I got this from a friend who knows that I'm an atheist and she cared about me enough to give this to me...and she is a Catholic. Interesting, isn't it?

"An Atheist loves his fellow man instead of god. An Atheist believes that heaven is something for which we should work now .. here on earth for all men together to enjoy.

An Atheist believes that he can get no help through prayer but that he must find in himself the inner conviction, and strength to meet life, to grapple with it, to subdue it and enjoy it.

An Atheist believes that only in a knowledge of himself and a knowledge of his fellow man can he find the understanding that will help to a life of fulfillment.

An Atheist seeks to know himself and his fellow man rather than to know a god. He believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church. He believes that a deed must be done instead of a prayer said.

An Atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death. He wants disease conquered, poverty vanquished, war eliminated. He wants man to understand and love man.

An Atheist wants an ethical way of life. He believes that we cannot rely on a god or channel action into prayer nor hope for an end of troubles in a hereafter.

An Atheist believes that we are our brother's keepers; and are keepers of our own lives; that we are responsible persons and the job is here and the time is now..."

With all that said, I can now proselytize you to join the ranks of atheism. ;)

Tips to Better Living #29

Sandals: $40
Floor tile adhesive: $20 per bucket
Watching a woman walk on the sticky floor and cursing loudly as she retrieves the sandals that got stuck: PRICELESS

Moral of this true story - be mindful of your surroundings

HNT - Special Guest (Morning Glory #2)

Morning Glory asked me that I pass on her message - "I am doing okay - I just felt that it was time to shut down my MG blog. Nolens Volens has given me permission to post my HNTs in here when the mood strikes me. Enjoy!"



~click if you want a personal kiss from me~

OP #14 - It's a bird! It's a plane! No, that's...

...Family Man to the rescue! 

About 2 years ago, a kid asked my oldest daughter "why do you love your daddy so much?" and she just couldn't answer that question any other way than "I just do".  The kid just couldn't comprehend why my daughter loves me so much.  Why not?

I'll tell you why not...there is absolutely nothing more rewarding than having your child's unconditional love for you and you alone.  There is no better feeling than your child subtly slipping her hand inside yours while you're walking just because she wants to hold your hand.  There is no greater satisfaction than playing with your child for an extended period of time just because she wants all of you to herself.

Last year, a friend kept introducing me to her friends by saying "Family man" first and then my name.  The way she said it...it made me sound like I'm a superhero by the name of Family Man (can you see how unique the headlines in newspapers would sound - "Family Man saves the day!"...I can see the potential of graphic novels right there!).  I do understand that she was using grammar structure of American Sign Language, BUT she could have said "Friend, name".  What she was doing showed me how much she respects me for having a family and for being a family man.  Heh

I've noticed how people look at me and I honestly don't care how I look to others (gawky, dumb-looking, nerdy, dorky, fat ass, whatever) because I know who I am and I love it - I'm a family man.  That's what I dreamed about while growing up in a family that wasn't even close to being functional or even normal.

I've probably mentioned my dad before...but it does bear repeating.  I remember how my dad started to drink more and more after divorcing my mom.  The thing that led to the divorce was my father's insistence that they have a threesome with a woman.  After caving in from his pressure, she discovered that she is gay - she had suppressed those feelings for about 20+ years and fell in love with the woman who had participated in the threesome.  She decided to not only come out of the closet to him, but she also let him know that she had enough of his drinking and she would be living with her new partner.

By the time he died about 16 years after divorcing my mom, he and I had spoken 4 times, briefly, in the last 2 years of his life (we had a fight and he refused to accept responsibility for his actions on our trip back home from my college 2 years earlier).  After the divorce, my mother struggled with her sexuality, coming to terms about the way she is, and she feared for her job security while we lived together with her partner...and her partner's 2 daughters for several years.

When I was about 13 or 14, I dreamed about having kids with my future wife and what identifying traits she would have.  I saw that she would be dark-haired and she would be a lefty because she was wearing her wristwatch on her right wrist.  Wouldn't you know it...I *did* get the location of her wristwatch right, but I didn't realize that she would be a rare right-handed person who wears a wristwatch on the right wrist.  My wife told me that she always has worn her watch on her right wrist, so that would explain why I got thrown off in my dream.

When I met my future wife at a dinner/social function in a small town, I didn't feel anything different in my heart or in my mind.  There was no lightning bolt, no fireworks, or anything.  She was dating someone else at the time (she later told me that after being introduced to me by her then-boyfriend who was my friend since boyhood, she thought of me as "Hmm, who's that tall man?").  Sometime later, I found out she was single again so I started talking to her.  Never looked back - we started dating 5 days later, she moved in with me 3 months after that, she proposed to me 2 months after moving in, and we got married 16 months after that.

I wouldn't trade it all in for bachelorhood or the luxury of "disposable income" or even having financial freedom.  Why?  Because I love getting smothered with their attention, I love giving them my attention, and we prank each other often.  My younger daughter would ask for a spray bottle and I would willingly give it to her and bolt from the room so I wouldn't be her 1st victim.  ;)

Tips to Better Living #28

As long as it's not sex, putting something in a wrong hole is "close" but acceptable.