Dan Antion

8 Things Not Worth Exploring

I did a little housekeeping yesterday. I have a lot of ideas squirreled away that have not and likely will never result in a blog post. Let’s see what I’m throwing out and why.

Medical Advice – I reacted badly to an article I read offering medical advice for staying healthy in retirement. The article took forever to say (I know, pot calling the kettle black) these four things. Avoid spicy food, avoid caffeine, avoid alcohol, and avoid fatty food. Why did I work forty-two years? I mean, I could have retired 10-15 years earlier if I was going to live on oatmeal.

I Can Ignore – I received the following connection request on LinkedIn – “I was impressed with your profile and think it would be beneficial for us to connect on LinkedIn.” My post was going to focus on the fact that my profile indicates that I am retired. As I researched this wanna-be connection, he was selling software.

The part of my job I dislike(d) the most – This post was a rant about a collection of complaints I received while, in addition to being in charge of technology, I was given the responsibility for dealing with the building management. Those complaints included, dirty window blinds, broken faucets in the lady’s room and ice in the parking lot. I was going to collect a few more and make it a top eight or ten kind of post – then I retired.

Home Sweet Homes Away From Home – I was collecting a list of favorite hotels and the things I liked about them. Luckily for you, I retired, and the pandemic stopped me from traveling.

WordPress Update – I collected a list of problems I had submitted to the Happiness Engineers that hadn’t been acted upon, or at least hadn’t been resolved. That was in April of 2019. They included a variety of things that didn’t work in Galleries (and still don’t) and the fact that I couldn’t like certain blog posts (also still happens). I checked the status of both of these yesterday – 27 months later – the Likes issue was closed because it was “stale” – after nine months with no activity. The Gallery issue was filed under the grand heading of “Gutenberg” a.k.a. Block Editor. Currently, there are over three thousand issues filed in that category.

Silly Argument – In September of 2019, I saw a thread in one of the neighborhood forums where one lady was complaining about “the way people murge.” Several other people commented on the topic, using the same misspelling. Finally, a woman entered a comment, “For crying out loud, it’s MERGE!” The thread switched to nothing but scornful comments like, “who made you grammar god?” and “Stop trying to look like an intellectual.” and “so impressed you know how to use a dictionary.” Then 2020 happened, and I realized the bizarre list of things people find offensive.

Weather – I was going to explore the fact that Twitter erupted (according to a news analyst) over the fact that a big storm was predicted but never arrived. I’m not sure what would have to happen for the weather to seem extreme now – extreme seems to be normal.

Math – I have a collection of math topics, from logarithms to the Golden Ratio to using approximations. I was going to toss that one, too, but I think I’ll hang onto it until another Monday. Sorry, Mary.

But not today, no logarithms today. I hope you enjoy the gallery. But first, a comparison of two photos from our back yard.

On the left, looking southwest. On the right, at the same time, looking northwest.
We don’t often see the puddle at the end of our driveway.
Puddles in the log racks
Smokey has to deal with the result of rain and no time to cut the grass.
The best flag we pass on our way home from our walk.
Thanks Maddie. This photo needed dog feet.
This ball field has been neglected due to unending rain. Looks like “I don’t know” is on third base.
The park is certainly green.
The Editor probably knows what this bird is, but…
There are leaf stains all over the sidewalk. They fall and get soaked for days and leave their mark.
The storms keep shaking the pine cones out early.
Baby bun is out for breakfast.
MuMu, on the other hand, needed to be brushed.
This time I resisted. I let MiMi sleep.
A welcome break from the heat and the rain.

92 comments

  1. Hi Dan. Medical advice – “The article took forever to say (I know, pot calling the kettle black) these four things. Avoid spicy food, avoid caffeine, avoid alcohol, and avoid fatty food.” A doctor writes: My four pieces of medical advice would be: don’t smoke, drink alcohol in moderation, enjoy any exercise you take and eat sensibly to avoid obesity.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  2. I quit LinkedIn 6 or 7 years ago but I still get the odd email telling me that my profile has been viewed by ‘x’ number of people in the past ‘y’ days. As for medical advice – same as Dr. P says: avoid the nasties and take all the other stuff in moderation. Also avoid car / bus / train / plane crashes etc if you really care about your health!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  3. I enjoyed the post. I 2 things to rant about. My husband lost his glasses. Insurance won’t reimburse us unless it is a theft. They were knocked off his face in the subway. To make a report took 8 police officers, two squad cars, and 4 hours. To try to retrieve the report took 3 police officers and two locations far apart and 4 hours resulting in no police report. I wound up mailing away for it. No one knows their job properly anymore and they don’t seem to care.
    I needed to change the flight date on flight insurance. It took 7 phone calls and 4 hours to be told that I needed to cancel the old policy and take out a new one. They could not correct the flight date.
    I am going on a much needed vacation to Iceland today. If there are problems during the trip I will try to make light of them.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  4. Hi Dan – I so agree … I’ll only advise a blogger if perhaps something needs to be amended – but even that I avoid … as to spelling, reding, or riting … not sure what life will be at 50 years from now … my daisies will have appeared – just enjoy the longer days … I think we’d all like to send the rain further west. Cheers Hilary

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • I do wish nature would share the rain with those areas that need it. We were in a prolonged drought situation last year. In fact, with all the rain we’ve had, we’re only now approaching normal rainfall amounts. Still, I wouldn’t mind sharing.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. Oh, I don’t know even though you’re retired now a lot of these topics are still relevant and good ideas.

    The misspelled word Murge would have driven me crazy too! Just sayin.

    I love that scar on the sidewalk made by the leaf. It was there, it left a mark. I am glad you noticed it and shared it with us.

    The park is just lovely, and luscious all decked out in green. I hope “I don’t know” gets to play ball soon.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thanks Deborah. It’s funny, the way it works with these notes. They are usually tied to a new article or someone else’s blog post. Then other things pop up, these get pushed down in the list and when I find them, they’re old news. I hope I can keep finding interesting topics.

      I think the Public Works crew is focusing on keeping one park in great shape. At this point, it’s the only one being used for baseball. Ironically, the birds seem to like the overgrown infield.

      I don’t contribute to the forum, but I felt bad for the woman who screamed “MERGE” – if intellectual is knowing that it’s not spelled “murge,” we’ve really lowered the bar on that status.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  8. fun post.. I wish I could do the same.. but.. I, thankfully, have reached a stage in life, where I just forget if its not “front and centre” ie. today I made the effort to get my you know what down to the lower level to remove food from freezer that has been sitting there for months.. waiting “to be actioned”…. waves good morning.. dog and cats!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  9. I think you need new neighbors if correcting a word causes such a kerfuffle. Hope you supported the woman who corrected the word and put her on your Christmas card list. Brave grammar warriors need all the encouragement they can get. The poor spellers will not overcome us.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • I avoid commenting in those forums like the plague. The original woman posting MS Murge, was also proposing that the area towns eliminate four lane roads (because murging is dangerous). Sometimes, you just have to shake your head and wonder.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. You certainly picked the time to retire, Dan. You knew that nothing would be the same any more but not like that. I hope you didn’t have a round-the-world tour planned. It’s incredible how our lives have changed. I’m sorry about the hotel list. It’s such a sign of the times that you’re ditching it.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  12. You have an interesting in-basket of topic ideas. Even more interesting is your idea to group them in a post of ideas you are tossing away. Quite brilliant actually. I’m shaking my head at the murge/merge fiasco. I’ve seen similar skirmishes break out online. I just don’t understand the need to get outraged at the most insignificant things. Inevitably it breaks down into vicious personal comments 🙄 Some people really need to chill.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • I’m glad you liked this Joanne. The breakdown of those conversations is why I avoid commenting. They either go all political or they go off into senseless anger. I kept trying to write that post, but it seems like every week there was a new mass shooting, road rage or anger related event that I didn’t want to get tangled up with.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. I’m looking forward to reading the post on the math topics. I saw logarithms and golden ratio there and became interested at once. One of the reasons I love Math is that it is universal. Like the truth. Most things are uncertain but not Mathematics. Even our biology is not certain. I used to think I understood the biology of the human body but the more I read it the more I realized thst it was changing, each study revealing someone new, sometimes contradicting what had been reported before. Sometimes even the authors themselves contradict one another on a given topic, leaving you wondering. I was astonished one time when I came across a commentary but the late Michael Crichton “that scientists do not really know what a gene is”. I have since come cross another comment about the same: that in the scientific community, there’s “no universally accepted definition of a gene.” I was greatly confused considering all the everyday talks about genes: gene revolution, gene therapy, GMO, CRISPR, people looking at one another and deciding who’s got good genes or bad genes, etc.
    I still read Biology, though Mathematics is much better. Math is math. No politics, no emotions, no confusion. So I am a fan. The only subject I still enjoy on this chaotic planet.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Maybe I can pull one of those posts out for next Monday, Peter. I have a math story I’ve been wanting to share. It was a minor triumph in my young life, and it more or less changed the course of my career.

      I think you’re right about math. I used to think physics was the base of all science, but I’ve come to think that it’s really math.

      Like

      Reply

  14. As I read through your list of posts you weren’t going to write I found myself reacting. Those are some great topics but they could certainly start a fire storm. Good choice. Love the puddle pictures!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  16. Thank God there are no logarithms today. My headache would not have tolerated such a post. You know, sometimes I read your math posts and I think if you did a basic addition/subtraction/multiplication/division post, I could chime in. Okay, whatever, I’m giving you 50 bonus points for being nice on a Monday morning.

    I will never ever give up alcohol or caffeine. While alcohol is not a staple, it’s there when I need it. I’ll be in Milwaukee in less than two weeks for biking and beer gardens with biking buddy. How could that be unhealthy?

    Have a wonderful Monday, Dan. I hope you see sunshine and dry weather this week. Give all of the furry girls a few pets from me and throw Smoky an extra peanut.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • If you look at the comment by Peter, you can see that next Monday may involve math – sorry. However, it’s really just addition and subtraction, but…

      We have rain in the forecast every day this week, Mary, so alcohol will have to be involved once or twice. Biking and beer gardens sounds like a wonderful event. If that’s harmful, then damn the torpedoes. I’ll pass around your good wishes. I hope you have a great week.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  17. Dan–this was so funny! Just saying the word ‘oatmeal’ makes me a little queasy….so, no to that. The Grammar Queen…why do people always go off on the lone person who just wants to make a correction. ‘Murge’ would have driven me nuts! I corrected something once, early on, at work and was forever branded ‘The English Major.’ Let it roll, Lois, let it roll…. The pinecone photo is lovely, as is dog feet. Maddie, you do know how to make a picture better. Have a great week, Dan!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • ‘Murge’ was even driving me nuts, and I am as far from being an English major as you can get. I wouldn’t have pointed it out, but if I had replied, I would have used ‘merge’ as a subtle way of letting her know. So many people kept writing ‘murge’ – I can see why the lady went off, only to be branded.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  21. I try not to get worked up by grammar unless it is with a major news outlet. My dad always spelled ‘sure’ ‘shure’ and I found a way to think of it as endearing. I am not a math person, but I enjoy the posts just the same. If a person writes about a subject with passion, then I find it will almost always peak my interest.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  23. Great list, Dan, and extraordinary photos. We had quite the storm yesterday, and like your photos, now everything is beautifully green. 😊

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  24. I performed Who’s on First when I was in high school as part of a revue we took to the local nursing homes. Two shows a day for a week, so 10 tries to get it right, which we never did! Just couldn’t seem to get past The “Naturally!” section no matter how hard we tried.

    The seniors we played before still loved it, though, which was the point. So I still count it as a win.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  29. “Murge” would drive me mad, too, and I see similar things when reading posts on NextDoor, a place that often gets too much like Facebook in nastiness so I don’t go there often. WP issues? Posts could be written weekly at least on these and often are, albeit on different blogs…and unfortunately, often on the same problems. These, like the poor, are always with us. But see, you got a post out of all these discards as well, you sneaky man. :-) As usual I enjoyed the photos as well and wanted to let you know we got a real rain a few days ago, the first since we moved here a year ago March. It was definitely welcome!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  33. Love the leaf picture. It’s a fossil of a leaf. I also thought about leaving Linkedin. I don’t really use it anymore. But I have to have it to able to do some of my search tasks on Clickworker (the german website I told you about).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  34. Sorry I’m late, Dan. Lately it’s as though all the days just rush by me. I had to laugh at the idea of a “twitter irruption.” Then I laughed harder, thinking of your reaction to the term. Congrats on resisting that foot. I know it was a challenge. Hugs on the wing!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • It’s so hard not to grab the foot, Teagan. It’s hard to ignore some of these stories, too, but I’ve settled on the mix of blogging that i do, and I don’t want to expand – days or topics – so I have to let some things go. Hugs!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  35. I love the leaf imprint. That longevity article must be old. I’ve never read one that said avoid spicy food. Caffeine and alcohol are okay in moderation as long as you’re not an addict or alcoholic in which case, they can be slippery slopes. When I notice the silly arguments starting on the neighborhood site, I wonder how people can be so bored – get a life!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • The article was from 2019. It was in an AARP newsletter. I work at moderation in most things. The forum traffic is odd sometimes, scary sometimes and sometimes, you just have to shake your head.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • I blogged a lot about travel and technology when I was working. I tried not to include anything that would lead to a person, but now those topics are less interesting to me.

      Like

      Reply

  38. Seems like a worthy list, Dan. I love those reflective pools. And the happy toadstools. 👏🏻👏🏻I’m glad you got some hood rain but also glad it finally stopped. Soggy is difficult to get around. The sky photos remind me of the skies here. Maybe when so much open sky is visible, that diversity is more easily seen. Once more Maddie looks quite content.m

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • There is some around here, but none where we are. We are up on the plateau with the airport, It’s all downhill from here. The CT River is close to one bridge, but I think we’ll be OK.

      Like

      Reply

  41. See, now, THIS is a good idea. I have so many half-written posts in my drafts folder. Sure, some will emerge as full-blown posts, but others will never see the light of day — unless I try something like this little trick. You’ve given me something to think about here, Dan …

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Add your thoughts or join the discussion. One relevant link is OK, more require moderation. Markdown is supported.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.