Fog, Sunshine, Stupidity In the News, and True Facts About Sloths

Fog - It was 42° when I traveled to mine office this morning at 7:30 AM. That is a very pleasant and welcome temperature for this time of year at that time of day. It was particularly pleasant, since the wind was a mere 2 MPH.

Unfortunately, the humidity was 95%, and the dew point was 42°. The dew point is the temperature below which the water vapor in a volume of humid air at a constant barometric pressure will condense into liquid water. Condensed water is called dew when it forms on a solid surface.

Mr. Nitro R/T was fully bathed in dew this morning.

The dew point is a water-to-air saturation temperature. The dew point is associated with relative humidity. A high relative humidity indicates that the dew point is closer to the current air temperature.

This weather condition produced fog. As always—albeit with increased fervor during bad weather—I prayed Laura's journey to work in Chico would be without issue. It is very comforting to me knowing that Laura is an excellent driver. She has taken defensive driving training and puts her training into practice at all times.

Stupidity In the News

ORLANDO, Fla. - A College Park couple's vegetable garden is on the chopping block again after the city threatened $500 per day fines if they don't uproot it by Thursday.

Manhattan Restaurant Offers $2,000 Plate of Pasta

$99 "smart fork" watches what you eat

Fake mission to Mars leaves astronauts spaced out

BOOK: Scientologists believe Holocaust was planned and carried out by psychiatrists

New Social Network Created -- for Cats!

CA lawmaker calls for "bullet control"

True Facts About Sloths - WARNING: There is a bit of foul language in this video. Please excuse this. The video is such a delight I could not eschew it!

Telemarketers

Telemarketers - I loathe telemarketers, and I find their calls to be disruptive, invasive, and fully without merit.

I shared with a client last Friday how I generally answer telephone calls that appear to be from telemarketers. If the Caller ID for an incoming call shows any of a number of displays I have come to associate with telemarketers, I usually answer the call by saying:

"You have reached an active crime scene. Who are you, and how did you get this number?"

Generally, the call is quickly and quietly ended by the caller at this point.

Should a telemarketer be unusually tenacious and attempt to initiate his spiel, I continue,

"Your phone number is being traced. Do not disconnect! An agent will be on the line soon to conduct an interview. Do not disconnect!"

That generally does it.

My client was most impressed and will, I have no doubt, soon be using this technique to deal with telemarketers!

Welcome to the Jungle!

Welcome to the Jungle! - Each day, I find myself increasingly less surprised by stories in the news. Yesterday, it was the two teenage girls who drugged the parents of one in order to gain unsupervised access to the Internet. Apparently, the parents routinely disabled the Internet connection at 10 PM each evening.

I am often told I have a very active imagination. I am, however, incapable of imagining what appeal the Internet could possibly offer that would allow these girls to rationalize their actions.

Today, I encountered the following:

"Cops Kicked Out Of Denny's For Being Armed"

- Apparently, a Denny's manager told two cops they must leave their guns in their car or leave the restaurant. It would seem to me that having armed LEOs would be welcomed. Subsequently, the Chief of Police issued a ban on officers eating at Denny's.

"Potheads Could Soon Get Weed From Vending Machines"

- The vending machines would require a fingerprint scan to verify the identification of the patient, which is then linked to a prescription on file. This signals the decline of our society directly and to a degree unequaled by anything else I have encountered recently.

"Second Trooper Suspended Over Roadside Cavity Search"

- This story is genuinely creepy.

"Connecticut Town To Burn Violent Video Games"

- This absurdity invites no comment.

"Woman Finds Bike Lost 50 Years Ago Swallowed By Tree"

- It is simply astounding that the bike was able to successfully elude detection for 50 years.

"Inmates Sue Beer Company, Saying Booze Made Them Do It

- They walk among us.

Jewel Thieves Pop Up At KFC"

- Perhaps these Mensa rejects relied upon Apple Maps.

"Woman Honors Her Dead Cats With Tattoos"

- Great Scott!

Woman Accuses Ghost Of Stealing Her Résumé"

- Really?

COLD - COLD - COLD! and A WORLD SLITHERING INTO MADNESS

COLD - COLD - COLD! - It is currently 28° at 8:05 AM! The fluid in Mr. Nitro's windshield washer reservoir was frozen this morning! It was necessary for me to sit, shivering, in Mr. Nitro and impatiently await the defrosting of his windshield. Generally, a liberal squirting of windshield washing fluid significantly accelerates the clearing of the icy carapace that has formed on Mr. Nitro's windshield during the night, but today this was not an option!

It has actually become 2 degrees colder in the last 30 minutes! Fortunately, there is no wind whatever.

A small mountain town near here—Chester, on the shore of scenic Lake Almanor—is enjoying a temperature of MINUS 2 DEGREES this morning! YIKES!

A WORLD SLITHERING INTO MADNESS - If one harbored any doubt that this world is slithering into madness, consider this: Placer Teens Drug Parents to Get Internet Access, Police Say - Two teenage girls in Placer County are in legal trouble after they allegedly used a drugged milkshake to knock out one of the girls' parents so they could access the Internet, Rocklin police said.

The DA is considering charging the girls as adults, which would make their crime a felony. Try as I might, I cannot imagine the Internet offering any attraction that would cause anyone to act in this manner.

Surely, this is pure madness!

Hello, 2013

Hello, 2013 - Am I perchance solitary in imagining that last year passed quickly? It certainly seems that way to me. As I sit here at my desk in my office I find myself absorbed in meditation over the past year—musing, if you will—and consumed by the concept that 2012 passed significantly more quickly than prior years.

It would be a simple matter to continue with mental concentration on this issue of 2012, however, it is time to move ahead. In doing so, I offer as closure the notion that 2012 seems to have passed quickly because the year seemed to pass quickly because the year was filled with so much tragedy, violence, uncertainty, and disappointment that I wanted it to pass quickly and, therefore, imagined that it did.

I must busy myself with other issues and attend to the daily business at hand—else, I fear, I would slip slowly but surely into a delirium and quickly find myself unable to successfully perform the various tasks so necessary to my daily agenda. I cannot allow this and must discontinue herewith my absorption relative to the year past.

Hello, 2013! What better way to greet the new year than by browsing lists of new laws greeting Californians today?

Here are the new laws greeting Californians today: List of New California Laws 2013

Here are the new gun laws greeting Californians today: New California Gun Laws 2013

What? That was not inspiring? All those new laws did not brighten your day?

Well, imagine that!

Sit back, relax, and be entertained!