Scoop’s Views

Below is a joke sent to me by a friend, Stan (aka Stan the Man), an alum at my alma mater who is old enough to be my father, or on a bad day, an older brother.

Stan’s a good guy. He likes to keep busy in real life, and when he isn’t busy, you can tell: he sends tens of email messages, some with photos, some with jokes, others with videos or PowerPoint presentations, and some, well, they have a subject line warning you of “how bad” the content may be, starting with a rating of R, if I recall a message from months ago correctly. You have to appreciate someone who is willing to tag potentially “offensive” messages in the subject line – whether for your own preferences or due to workplace restrictions.

Tags: blue vest, children, courteous, email messages, emails, employment, Forrest Gump, Friends, greeter, Humor, jobs, jokes, kids, manners, Navy, offensive, older Americans, older workers, part time jobs, Photos, polite, PowerPoint presentations, presentations, retirees, subject lines, supervisors, twins, US Navy, videos, Wal-Mart, Walmart, woman, Women, workplace, yelling

Here’s a non-partisan joke going around in email. It’s hilarious, can be enjoyed by both parties, and it may be politically correct. If it isn’t, don’t complain to me because I don’t care.

While walking down the street one day a U.S. senator is hit by a truck and dies. His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter who’s standing at the Pearly Gates.

Tags: barren lands, Beezlebub, campaigning, Campaigns, caviar, champagne, clouds, clubhouse, contended souls, dancing, dead, death, devil, diablo, dine, dinners, dressed in rags, formal evening attire, Friends, garbage, golf course, golfing, green golf course, harps, Heaven, heaven-and-hell, Hell, joking, lame-duck-senator, lobster, parties, party, Pearly Gates, picking up trash, politicians, Politics, Prince of Darkness, Satan, Senator, senator-in-limbo, singing, St. Peter, trash falling from above, voted, votes, voting, waste

In the 1960s, most children and teenagers knew — or watched — one of the most popular cartoons of all time: The Flintstones, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions.

Fred and Wilma Flintstone, a most unlikely of pairs, and their neighbors, Barney and Betty Rubble, often had laughs, but they had to content with real life, too, albeit in the cartoon era in the Town of Bedrock, where from worked atop a dinosaur’s back, hauling out loads of rock from Mr. Slate’s quarry.

Tags: 1960s, Bamm-Bamm, Bamm-Bamm- Rubble, Barney Rubble, Bedrock, Betty, Betty Jean McBricker, Betty McBricker, cartoons, Dino, dinosaurs, Flinstones, Flintmobile, Fred Flintstone, Hopparoo, Let the Sun Shine In, Loggin Continental, Pebbles, Pebbles Flintstone, quarry, Rubbles, Slaghoople, Snorkasaurus, TV, tyrannosaurs, tyrannosaurus, Wilma

Here’s a hat tip to my good friend, DA66, who sends me a lot of humorous stuff, but also some stuff that cracks me up to no end.

In thinking back over the past few days of “presidential campaigning,” I recall Barack Obama saying it’s time for him to turn up the heat and really dish out the nasties on his opponent, Hillary Clinton. I wonder if Barack’s people are behind this ditty sent to me by DA66, who could be one of my people, but I just can’t afford to hire him.

Tags: Barack Obama, cigars, country roads, cows, DA66, driver, farmhouses, Hillary Clinton, killed opponents, presidential campaigns, presidential election, win

I signed up for Jott the other day, although I first heard of the service a few months ago. It’s everything that others promised it would be, and a little more.

When it comes to saving time — whether on typing emails, writing notes, or sharing information with someone — I like to ensure my time is used most efficiently. This is where Jott comes in.

Tags: bus, car, cell phone, driving, Email, Franklin Planner, Franklin-Covey, home, Jott, Jott.com, office, phones, printer, speed dial, train, transcribe, transcription, voicemail, work

It seems some five million of our oldest, as well as disabled, citizens, have not yet signed up for their Medicare Part D drug plan. To help them, what does Congress do? Decide to not grant them an extension.

Tags: border patrol, borders, children, Congress, disabled, Education, English as a Second Language, ESL, expenses, fence, illegal aliens, illegal immigrants, illegals, immigration and customs enforcement, income tax, Medicare, Medicare drug plan, Medicare Part D, prescription coverage, procreate, protests, public schools, schooling, schools, senior citizens, tacos, taxes, welfare

A pal of many years from what some consider the backwoods of Illinois, PapaGrizz, sent me an email with yet another item added to the list of Chinese-made toys being recalled. Here’s the most current addition to the list of Chinese toys being recalled in the United States.

Tags: backyard toys, cheese shredders, China, Chinese, Chinese-made, Christmas, Christmas presents, Christmas shopping, Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC, FTC, full list of toy recalls, gifts, lawn toys, lead, playground equipment, recall list, Recalls, retail stores, slides, toy recall list, toys

People often say, “It’s all a matter of perspective,” but many times when other say it, it is because you are going through a rough time.

Tags: dad, Email, families, family, farming, farms, father, horizon, Humor, Life, perspective, ponds, pools, protection, servants, son, speechless, wealth

It seems more and more in the U.S., as well as other Christian-based countries, that if you’re a Christian or believe in God, you’re one of the last legal targets of humiliation, harassment, and any legal challenge some loonies can toss about.

Tags: Bill Donohue, Buddha, Buddhists, Catholics, Christ, Christianity, Christians, Episcopalians, heroes, Islam, Islamic, Israel, kill God, Muslims, Philip Pullman, role models, Snopes.com, sports figures, The Catholic League, The Golden Compass, the Holy Bible

After three days of email exchanges, Oliver sent me an alpha version of cForms 5.4. Alpha versions of development — pre-beta releases. Betas are basically “stable” products that are being considered for release. I’ve been alpha- and beta-testing for almost 20 years, so I backed up my database, installed and activated cForms 5.4 alpha, and went to work.

If you ever have the privilege of riding a train for a long journey, such as a 14-hour or longer ride, have fun. In fact, there are several things to consider, and, ultimately, to keep in mind when making your reservations. Take heed to this post for at least one pointer.

It’s been several weeks since the folks at Google, writing on the Gmail Blog, asked for Gmailers to send in video snippets showing how they use Gmail. More specifically, the idea was to get, from Gmailers’ points-of-view, a behind-the-scenes look at how Gmail messages really travels around the world, according to Gmail’s product manager, Arielle Reinstein.