Go Figure

There’s an old saying that goes “Figures lie and liars figure.”

Without sounding too cynical, I would have to say that this is one generalization that I can totally accept.

Whether its old wives tales, political rhetoric or what passes these days for news, we are constantly coming in contact with numbers that purport to prove an assertion.

Here’s a favorite example – Whether speaking of termites, hummingbirds or Apaches in ambush, the speaker claims “if you see one, there are (pick any large number) that you don’t see.”  Or, stated mathematically - If X_v=1, then X_t= (X+1)ⁿ where X= termites, etc., v is number seen, t is total, and n is any number pulled out of thin air.

The claim cannot be proven, but it is just as impossible to disprove. If said often enough, and with sufficient confidence, the assertion  will be accepted as fact by 99% of the population.

The discerning reader will note that I just made the same kind of statement. I have no idea what the actual percentage is, but that doesn’t mean that I’m wrong.

Wish I’d Known

GE Garages - I wish there had been some advance P-R about this.  I didn’t learn of the event until the tents had folded and they were headed out of town.

Located right on the edge of Rice University, by the school's football stadium, GE set up shop with three main attractions. The main event? Shipping containers transformed into a manufacturing site with everything from a laser cutter to a 3D printer to a molding machine.

Originally introduced in Austin at SXSW, these garages hit the road to educate and have teamed up with major companies — Quirky, TechShop, Skillshare and Autodesk. The two-week pit-stop in Houston just ended. Up next: San Francisco.

GE's aim is to bring technology enthusiasts together and excite the local community to learn about the latest, cutting-edge equipment that's shaping the future of manufacturing and design. The company also wants to promote and celebrate inventors, entrepreneurs or any aspiring builder who wants to dive into innovation.

I would have been particularly excited to see the Makerbot 3D printer. Primarily used for rapid prototyping and the creation of plastic objects from CAD (computer-aided design) files.

"You just insert an SD card on the side of the printer and the downloaded file will blow up from the ground up with ABS plastic," according to tour guide Cassandra Castaneda. In the picture, you can see a Pokemon Pikachu  in the process of coming to life.

Sometimes It’s Right to Write Wrong

I started yesterday’s post with “A pair of grandfathers are…”

I knew it was wrong when I did it, but I couldn’t help myself. It all comes down to proximity, and how the sentence sounds when read/spoken aloud.

I know that the subject of the sentence was pair which, even though it indicates more than one, is a singular noun. Grandfathers, as used in this sentence, is the object of a preposition and the verb should match the subject.

In a sentence like “A flock of sheep is…” it’s easy enough to do, since sheep could be singular or plural, but “A flock of blackbirds” screams for a plural verb - it’s almost impossible to write is instead of are.

I know all this because of my fifth grade teacher,  Winnie Simpson. I was in her first elementary school class after her years as a college English professor. I couldn’t tell you what else I learned that year but By God, we learned English. She had us diagramming compound and complex sentences, and we all knew the difference between objective, subjective and subjunctive.

I still write “I was” and “If I were” because of her influence, and I know which verb is correct in cases like those mentioned above. I just can’t force myself to write something that sounds so wrong.

Reward with Swings Attached

A pair of grandfathers in Arizona are offering a $100 reward for the return of their grandson’s swing.  A bug bull elk got his antlers caught in the swing and took off with it, seat, chains and all.

Here’s the story from AZ Family.com:

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- There is a wanted poster making the rounds in Flagstaff that has many people doing a double-take.

The poster features a picture of an elk with a child's swing tangled in his antlers. The people who made it are offering a $100 reward for the return of their grandson's swing, but it must be attached and knotted to the antlers as shown in the picture.

Perhaps the swing has sentimental value, or they just want it back with the antlers because it would be a good conversation piece.

In any case, it's quite possible the swing could end up back where it came from. But don't worry; the elk will not have to be harmed for that to happen.

According to Shelly Shepherd with the Arizona Game and Fish Department, "We suspect he probably dropped his antlers like all elk do during the spring and he's probably a happy camper now that he doesn't have that extra baggage."

Shepherd said it is legal to go out into the forest and pick up antlers that have been dropped by elk and deer naturally during the springtime.

There is a market for antler sales not only in Arizona but across the United States, according to Shepherd, who offered this advice for antler hunters, "You are going to find more antlers if you get off your ATV or out of your vehicle and actually go hiking to look for antlers."

Help Wildflowers – Take A Leek

Heritage Auctions in Dallas will host an auction on May 12 featuring a variety of items that belonged to Lyndon and Lady Bird Johnson.  All proceeds will go to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center.

Items range from very impressive to remarkably tacky, like this Limoges box in the form of a leek:

Items can be viewed, and on line bids will be accepted HERE .

Pawn Star

Since we retired, Honey and I enjoy watching an hour or two of television in the afternoon. 

If you stay home, or you’ve ever been off sick, you probably know that there really isn’t much worth watching in the afternoon, even if you have satellite or cable.  You may have 200 channels to choose from, but most of the options are junk.

One solution we’ve found is a show called Pawn Stars on the History Channel.  I can’t explain the appeal, but it is there.  It is the highest rated show on the channel, and one of the highest rated on cable TV.  It has spawned at least one spin-off and several imitators have popped up on other channels, but none of them are nearly as much fun to watch.

Honey sets the DVD to record the shows at night, and we watch them at our convenience, usually about 3:00 p.m.

The picture above is only funny if you’ve seen the show.

 

Elvis Was Wrong

 

A friend posted something on Facebook this morning about peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I suppose they are okay – Elvis supposedly loved them – but I could never bring myself to eat one.

It all goes back to seventh grade at Hamilton Jr. High. My hall locker was immediately above the one assigned to a kid whose mother made him peanut butter and banana sandwiches almost every day. After three or four hours in a ninety degree locker, the oils in the sandwich would combine to form an aromatic ester (Isopentylacetate and/or something else) that smelled like a combination of airplane glue and lacquer.  The stuff was undoubtedly flammable, possibly psychedelic, and would knock a buzzard off a gut wagon.

The fumes literally made me sick every time I went to my locker and I finally had to get my locker assignment changed. My new locker was on the bottom row, and not even on the same floor as my home room, but it was worth it.