Category: Uncategorized

Today we drove south on Delaware Highway 1. There are signs posted at frequent intervals telling you not to stop along the shoulder except in case of an emergency. If I was a registered voter in Delaware, I would be taking notes as to who feels they are exempt from the rules.

Here’s a guy I actually caught in the act. Unfortunately, I could not get a clear enough shot to be sure of the candidate’s name.

And here’s my all time favorite of the bunch.

Having a desire to end this on a lighter note, here’s a sign for you to read three times fast.

I had trouble saying it once.

TTYL,

Linda

Today we visited part of our own history. History that happened in our lifetimes.

We visited the Vietnam Era Museum in Holmdel, New Jersey.

I took no pictures.

It is an immersive experience. There’s no way to photograph that.

It’s all in one big room.

Around the outside walls of the room there are displays that orient you as to the geography of the location and a time line that places the Viet Nam war in perspective as to what was happening before and during the time of the war. It’s not all sad. I’m trying to hold onto the image of Goldie Hawn in her bikini and body paint on Laugh-In.

Opposite that wall there are stands holding letters. Lots and lots of letters. To and from those serving in our armed forces.

In the middle there’s a theater with glass walls so you can see into it and hear it from everywhere in the room. On the big screen in that theater area people talk about their experiences relating to the war. Mostly people who served: a clerk, a medic, a door gunner, a black man who listens to racial slurs regarding the Viet Namese, a woman whose job we never learn, and more. We hear them talk about what is was like going over, being there, and coming home.

But, we also hear from people whose loved ones never came home.

Everyone who wants to understand more about that war–or the current one–should go to this museum.

But, bring at least one hankie. Because I guarantee you are going to cry.

TTYL,

Linda

We all know what a jug handle is. It looks like this:

But when I see a thing on my map that looks like this…

… I expect it to be a right ramp leading to a bridge or tunnel that crosses over or under the main road.

Unless I’m in New Jersey where such an intersection is known as a Jersey Jug Handle. Then I expect that crossing to be one where both roads are at the same elevation. Which would seem to imply you could turn left there. But, you can’t.

If you zoom in on that sign you’ll see the white part says, “All turns” with an arrow pointing towards that right hand exit.

Yes, you must turn right if you want to turn left. Then you curve to the left and cross the main road at right angles. So you have to cross all the lanes of traffic. But you don’t turn left on this road or many other roads in New Jersey. Ever.

TTYL,

Linda

The time: July 17th, 2002. The place: National Camera Exchange in Golden Valley, Minnesota. The need: a digital pocket camera I could take on vacation to London that could also take photographs for the magazine articles I was then writing and publishing. The clerk recommended one his own tech was planning to buy as soon as it became available. A cutting edge camera.

It has been, in fact still is, a wonderful camera–doing everything I asked of it.

But the battery charger died. And I used up one battery and my back-up battery is about to die. And I have had no luck finding anyplace to sell me another charger for this “old” camera.

So now I have a new camera.

I hope it serves me as well as the old one did.

It won’t serve you as well because clicking on the thumbnails here is going to result in a longer wait to get the larger pictures. But they’ll supposedly be sharper so maybe you won’t mind. I hope. I hope. I hope.

TTYL,

Linda

The Thomas Edison Laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey, is HUGE!

We only allowed 1 1/2 hours to tour it which was a mistake. That did allow us enough time to watch the introductory video and take the main audio tour but not the extended audio tour nor listen to any of the ranger talks.

But we did learn how he managed to invent so many things in one lifetime. He had help.

Yes, the man was a genius. He did invent many things himself. But once he had enough money to expand, he began building his labs where others were put to work developing his ideas.

Want to know what shape and material makes the best speaker phone? Give a bunch of people unlimited materials with which to experiment and they will eventually find the best.

Do this over and over again with question after question and you will eventually wind up with lots of patents.

All it takes it time, money, and…

…genius enough to come up with the questions in the first place.

TTYL,

Linda