A Rant about Bread

Bread’s great, right? We all love bread- fresh, soft, delicious bread. (Hold up twist tie) But do we all know why this comes with the bread bag? Because it keeps the bread from going stale! When you don’t put the twist tie back on the bread bag, the bread goes stale a lot faster than when you do. Especially when there’s only two people in the household so it takes a week to eat a whole loaf of bread. If you put the twist tie back on the bread, that loaf will last a whole week and still taste good the whole time. But when every day the twist tie is left off, the bread goes stale before it can all be eaten and the rest has to be thrown away, which is super wasteful. It only takes 10 seconds to put a twist tie back on a bag. When one person in the house puts the twist tie back on the bread every day it should be a reminder to the other person in the house to also put the twist tie back on the bag and not just leave it sitting on the counter. So please, next time you enjoy a delicious slice of soft fresh bread, do your family a favor and put the twist tie back on the bag.

South Park S01E01 "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" as Told in Haikus

Season One begins,

Cartman Gets an Anal Probe

Trey Parker, Matt Stone

Standing at bus stop,

Ike followed, what a dildo,

Look, kick the baby!

Cartman very tired,

Bogus nightmares all night long,

Didn’t sleep at all

Lying in his bed,

Bright blue light illuminates,

Door slowly opens

Pulled through the hallway,

Lying on table, aliens!

Operation, just a dream

No dude, Visitors!

Take people, mutilate cows

Cartman claims not real

Chef drives up, pimp car

What’s for lunch? Salisbury Steak

Visitors are real

Chef asks, anal probe?

Cartman says no, just a dream

Sorry about your ass

Crabtree is a bitch,

Ike still there, Visitors grab

Crabtree won’t stop bus

Farmer’s cows are dead,

“Cows turn themselves inside out,

All the time” –Barbrady

Mr. Hat teaching,

Columbus, Douglas, Hebrews

Napoleon too

Scared will be trouble,

“Where has that finger been Kyle?”

I need to find Ike!

Mr. Hat says no,

Have to stay in class Kyle

Cartman farts fire

Cows waiting for train,

You cows can’t get on this train,

This is people train

Cartman farts some more,

Still says Visitors not real,

Flames come out his ass

Stan is enamored,

He likes Wendy Testaburger,

Throws up when she talks

Letter delivered,

Meet at Stark’s Pond after school,

To Stan from Wendy

Chef sings little song,

Gonna make love to woman,

Do you feel better?

Cartman farts some more,

Anal probe device comes out,

Chef pulls the alarm

Got out of school day,

Cartman can’t stop the fire,

Alien control

He loves to sing-a,

‘Bout the moon-a and the June-a

What the hell was that?

Give me back brother!

Alien ship shoots Kenny,

Oh my god, bastards!

Kenny’s ok though,

Cow’s stampede, crushing Kenny

Oh wait, he’s still fine

Siren, lights flashing

Cop car drives over Kenny,

Now he’s dead, bastard!

Cartman says not dead,

Stan stick pokes, Kyle pulls head,

Screw you guys, going home

Stan leaves for Wendy,

Can’t help Kyle, needs lovin’,

While the getting’s hot

There’s Powdered Donut,

Pancake Surprise for Cartman,

Eensie weensie bite?

No Mem, don’t want it,

Chocolate Chicken Pot Pie?

Well that does sound good

At Starks Pond Stan pukes,

Kyle says get to business,

Make love by fire

News report, crop circles,

No Kitty! Is my pot pie!

Kitty is dildo

Wendy has a plan,

Use fat kid, alien bait

Good plan, Stan throws up

Friends at Cartman’s house,

Need time with little friends,

Go play at bus stop

Cartman tied to tree,

I don’t think I have to fart,

Fart some more Cartman!

Farts satellite dish,

Now do you believe, Cartman?

Can’t trick me, was dream

Ass dish beams to space,

Almost time Sanford and Sons,

Aliens appear

Kyle passionate,

Little brother is special,

Aliens ignore

What is wrong with you?

Ignore a crying child?!

Ike jump down from there!

Aliens to cows:
You are most wise on planet,

Here is a present

Aliens depart,

Cartman sucked up into ship,

No one notices

Stan talks to Wendy,

This time he doesn’t throw up,

Wendy goes to kiss

Stan throws up this time,

Hey look a French fry! There's more

Episode closes

Scouting in Illinois: Grave of William D. Boyce

Ottawa, Illinois was once home to, and the final resting place, of William D. Boyce. The city pays tribute to this founding father of Boy Scouts with the Ottawa Historical and Scouting Museum. Half of the small museum houses exhibits on local history and the other half is devoted to scouting. Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts are both represented in the museum. Boyce also founded the Lone Scouting program, which is well-represented in the museum.

Boyce’s final home is in the Ottawa Cemetery. His grave is memorialized with a memorial statue of a Boy Scout wearing a scouting uniform.

It was a sub-zero day in January when we visited the Ottawa, IL sites that pay homage to William D. Boyce. We were on the tail end of a 3-day trip to Starved Rock State Park and had timed our visit to be sure to be able to visit the Scouting Museum. We pulled up to the Museum and were the only ones there, save for the lone elderly man sweeping snow off the sidewalk. We got out of the car and he asked us if he could help us. We told him we were there for the museum and he came over to open it up, we were the first visitors of the day. We made comments early on about being Scout leaders ourselves, and yet we still got much more of a tour than we anticipated. The friendly, but much too clingy, tour guide followed us through the Scouting room of the Museum telling us history we’ve known for years. I wandered off ahead to explore on my own, leaving my poor husband with the talkative guide. We then proceeded to the other room of the Museum, which houses mainly local history, as well as a reproduction of Boyce’s office and Boyce’s actual sofa back table. Again, we were unable to lose our guide. The previous day we had purchased a vintage Scout uniform from an antique shop and were unsure if it was from the 1920s or 1930s. Before leaving the museum, we went back to the Scouting room to compare their uniforms. We thought this time we would surely lose our escort since we had already been through the whole thing, but were sorely mistaken. As we tried to have a private conversation about the uniform we had bought, we were told about Boyce’s connection to Disney. We left as soon as possible, passing up the gift shop and the chance to buy unique patches.

William D. Boyce's Memorial in Ottawa Cemetery

After a quick stop at a statue memorializing the radium girls of Ottawa, we headed to the cemetery. There’s a sign showing the way to Boyce’s memorial at the front gate and it was just down the main road. We drove to the memorial and got out to look. The memorial has a lifesize statue of a Boy Scout in uniform. Anxious to get back into the warm car, we skipped Boyce’s actual grave in the nearby family plot.

William D. Boyce brought Boy Scouting to the US. Legend has it, he was in London, lost on a foggy day when a scout approached him and helped him find where he was going. When Boyce tried to tip the scout, he was refused, as the scout said it was part of his duty as a Boy Scout. A few months later Boyce founded the Boy Scouts of America in 1910.

Graceland Cemetery: Grave of George Pullman

Other than its size, George Pullman’s grave doesn’t seem that interesting. But hidden underneath, is the story of a man who’s controversial life caused him to fear retribution even after his death.

 A high school dropout at age 14, George Pullman started his working life helping his father relocate houses along the Erie Canal in New York. When he relocated to Chicago in search of more opportunities, he used that knowledge to come up with a way to raise up the buildings so that a sewage system could be constructed.

 To reach Chicago from New York, Pullman had ridden a cramped cross-country train. This inspired him to design a sleeping car that would be more comfortable on long trips. Pullman’s sleeping car first gained fame when it was used to transport President Lincoln’s body from Washington D.C. to Springfield, IL.

The demand for Pullman’s railroad cars kept growing, leading him to hire more and more workers. Pullman purchased 4,000 acres of land near Chicago and created what is still one of the most famous company towns. This area is now managed by the National Park Service.

While Pullman’s company was having success, across the nation laborers were starting to assemble. The Pullman workers were eligible to join the American Railway Union and started airing their grievances. Negotiations were not successful, and so, a strike was called. Union members stopped any work dealing with Pullman cars, the effects of which were felt nationwide. The Illinois government tried to intervene and military members were sent to Chicago to try to stop the strike. This only made things worse and mob action grew once the military was there.

Eventually the strike did end, and the ARU ended as well. After the strike, things didn’t quite go back to normal in the company town. People were upset over living conditions and feeling that the company was taking advantage of them.

 George Pullman and his family knew he had screwed up. The family was so fearful of someone digging up Pullman’s body to desecrate or for ransom that they had the coffin covered in tar and asphalt. The coffin was then encased in a large block of concrete that was reinforced with railroad ties.


Sources:
https://www.nps.gov/pull/learn/historyculture/the-pullman-story-part-2.htm https://graveyards.com/IL/Cook/graceland/pullman.html
Photo: Author's Own

Blog Resurrection 2: Electric Boogaloo

It's been five years since I've last touched this blog and so much has changed! Well, my life has changed, but my love of learning has not. I now work in education and being surrounded by learning everyday only motivates me more to continue my self-studies. I am back on Blogger to chronicle my MOOC obsession, reading, and travel. I also wanted a place to publish pieces I've submitted to Atlas Obscura that haven't been published there. I love visiting weird places, and now also, researching new ones. I love the excitement of falling down a rabbit hole of interesting research! Really, this blog is just for me. I've never had regular readers and doubt I ever will. But, if I'm going to be writing these things down anyways, why not slap them up here, just in case?

January 3-13 Summary

Personal Training: I worked pretty diligently on studying the ACE practice test, when I tested myself on 1/ 11 got a 59/60, not bad! Towards the end of the period I also started actually read the book and writing down and defining vocabulary words. I found some good videos online explaining a few different concepts too and am on the look out for more. Reading: During this period I finished the books How to Instantly Connect with Anyone by Leil Lowndes, What the Most Successful People do Before Breakfast by Laura Vanderkam, and The Richest Man Who Ever Lived: King Solomon's Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness by Steven Scott. How to Instantly Connect was pretty good, it was 90-some "little tricks." I liked that it was practical things to try instead of general philosophy on communication. Before Breakfast was a quick little read, nothing too profound but nice motivation and I have been trying to get up earlier. Richest Man was ok, I liked the idea and the advice but I wish it had more practical applications. I also started reading Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography. Camera Surgery: A while back the tabs on the mounting ring of my DSLR lens broke. I researched the problem online and apparently it's pretty common. I finally ordered a new part during the period and attempted surgery. It didn't go so well. At first I thought I had it and then I tugged a bit too hard on a ribbon and it snapped. I figured ok, so maybe it won't auto-focus. I finished putting it back together and it went onto the camera alright. Apparently it's the wrong part though because now it won't come on. I've set it aside to work on again later. I still think it's worth it, a professional repair costs as much or more as a new lens. Definitely an interesting learning experience too. TED Talks: I wish I had discovered TED talks sooner! There are so many great ones. I enjoyed most of the playlist How to Tell a Story, as well as a few other random ones. Interesting Things Watched: I watched a lot of episodes of Shark Tank. I love seeing all the new business ideas. An interesting documentary I watched on Hulu was Erasing David. My dad is very into privacy and has gotten me into it as well somewhat. I wish there was an America version of Erasing David but I still think it would be eye opening to anyone who isn't familiar with privacy and data mining. I made a joke to a friend the other day that if someone were to look at my "Recently Watched" on Netflix they would probably assume I'm a boy. I've been watching a lot of weapons and military shows.

Resurrection

So I've decided to resurrect this blog, mainly with an autodidactive focus. I've been keeping a notepad file with notes on what I accomplish each day, but thought why not go ahead and post them publicly too? I'm thinking I will keep my notepad file for daily notes and then weekly or so post them here, since notepad is simpler for quick jottings. What I've been working on: -Study guides for the ACE personal trainer certification test, I usually work on about 5-10 pages a day -Lots of reading of all kinds -I have a large list of bookmarks of resources that I will start to utilize -Soon I will be starting the new semester of college, which isn't really autodidactive, but oh well -I have some anatomy books and study guides that I'm going to start using