Monday, November 7, 2005

Just Wondering

These important questions arrived in yesterday’s email:

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

If money doesn’t grow on trees then why do banks have branches?

Since bread is square, then why is sandwich meat round?

Why do you have to “put your two cents in"… but it’s only a “penny for your thoughts"? Where’s that extra penny going to?

Once you’re in heaven, do you get stuck wearing the clothes you were buried in for eternity?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they “slept like a baby” when babies wake up like every two hours?

If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?

If you drink Pepsi at work in the Coke factory, will they fire you?

Why are you IN a movie, but you’re ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?

How come we choose from just two people for President and fifty for Miss America?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They’re going to see you naked anyway.

If a 911 operator has a heart attack, whom does he/she call?

Why is “bra” singular and “panties” plural?

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet soup?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, “I think I’ll squeeze these dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out!"

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?

When your photo is taken for your driver’s license, why do they tell you to smile? If you are stopped by the police and asked for your license, are you going to be smiling?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him?

Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane?

If the professor on Gilligan’s Island can make a radio out of a coconut, why can’t he fix a hole in a boat?

Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don’t point to their crotch when they ask where the bathroom is?

Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They’re both dogs!

What do you call male ballerinas?

Can blind people see their dreams? Do they dream?

If Wyle E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME stuff, why didn’t he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

If electricity comes from electrons, does morality come from morons?

Is Disney World the only people trap operated by a mouse?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

Why do they call it an asteroid when it’s outside the hemisphere, but call it a hemorrhoid when it’s in your butt?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog’s face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride; he sticks his head out the window?

Do you ever wonder why you gave me your e-mail address in the first place?

Hat tip to John & Grayle Blecker

Landmarks

As we walk through the hills around our home, we see the scene around us change every few minutes. Familiar landmarks move around, change perspective and shape, appear and disappear. Probably the most evident aspect of the scene around us is the horizon and the peaks that shape it. I took the panorama at right on yesterday morning’s walk, just to illustrate this phenomenon. The five most promienent peaks are labeled on the photo (click at right to bring up a large view).

Gaskill Peak and Lawson Peak are part of the mountains that surround Lawson Valley (where we live). They are visible on our entire mile-long hike, though their relative position changes quite dramatically. Viejas Mountain is also visible the entire time, but here you see much more of it than you would from our house (which is 400 or 500 feet lower in elevation). But Cajon Mountain and Cuyamaca Peak are not visible at all from our home. They appear, bit by bit, as we hike up the hill.

Before GPS, these clearly visible, well-defined peaks would have made wonderful landmarks to use with a compass, topographic map, and protractor to figure out exactly where you were. I’ve done this as an exercise, and it’s pretty easy to locate yourself with an accuracy of 50 feet or so — nearly as good as the GPS (without WAAS). But the old-fashioned way sure is a lot more work! The information that comes effortlessly from the GPS can only be duplicated with 5 or 10 minutes of concentrated work.

Meanwhile, we’ll just enjoy the shifting scenery on our walk…