ASSIGNMENT ACCEPTED 265 - 09-22-09

A blog by Rick Larrison

In your BLOG 264 you challenged (make that assigned) me to complete the 8 missing BLOG entries for you. You also questioned ‘CONUNDRUM’, with multiple question marks. So, to validate that I had used the word correctly, I used the source of all knowledge "The Internet". Below is what I found from "Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"

Conundrum may refer to:
In literature:

• Conundrum (Doctor Who), an original novel written by Steve Lyons
• Conundrum (novel), a Dragonlance fantasy novel by Jeff Crook
• Conundrum, a memoir written by Jan Morris
• Conundrum Press, two book publishing companies in North America

In other fields:

• "Conundrum" (song), an instrumental song by Jethro Tull
• "Conundrum" (TNG episode), a fifth season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation
• The "Conundrum", a mountain unicycle made by Surly Bikes
• "Conundrum" NSA code word for Chrononaut Frank B. Parker in the television series Seven Days (3 seasons, 66 episodes)

In general:

• Conundrum, is a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun or unexpected twist
• Conundrum is a logical postulation that evades resolution, an intricate and difficult problem ^[1]

I, of course, was using the word as defined in the second definition of the "In general" heading. Though there are some other very interesting tidbits of information extracted from Wikipedia. So, to resolve my senior brother's "Conundrum", he has passed the ball off to me. So, I guess I'll just have to take on the burden and complete the tasks for him. (Like, I've never had to do that before? He is a big brother and everyone knows how they pass off undesirable tasks to their younger siblings.)

This blog is posted on:

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FALL TRIMMINGS 275 - 10-02-09

It is fall!  I am confident you all know that already, but, here in Florida, it is not always as easy to tell as it is in some of your necks of the woods where the foliage explodes in fiery and vibrant hues of yellow, gold, and orange accompanied by a definite new chill in the air.  With the mercury still flirting with the ninety line, we are still swimming and donning our Bermuda shorts and short sleeved shirts, but it is still the season to get things in order for winter.  That is where my son, Ben, entered the picture today.   Since the dad had his open heart surgery nearly ten years ago, the good son has managed to keep his father off the roof and out of the trees, much to his mother’s approval and to his dad’s relief.  Ben is athletic, well built, and agile enough to streak up the rungs to lop off the sagging fronds of the three palms which enhance our curb appeal here at 5515.  I had run a couple errands in the morning and, by the time I arrived at the house, Ben had already cut multiple branches from the largest of the trees and was well into the other two.  Ben had trimmed these same palms last fall as well and was confident that he was well over half done, but I fooled him there – we (note the ‘we’ here, but someone has to supervise, you know) would trim another sixteen fronds before stopping to load the debris into his pickup for a trip to the landfill, more than two dozen branches lopped from the trunks leaving only the central uprights remaining.  They looked awesome, though a little scant from previous years – no worries, they will be back in the spring.  In the mean time, Ben shared with me that he is perfectly fine up to about 10 feet, from 10 to 15 feet, he is kind of okay so long as all work can be done one-handed, for he will have a solid and firm grip with the other.  Since the palms have now exceeded twenty-five, I think he was telling me, “Next fall, when those two guys in a pick-up towing a trailer and missing an average of two front teeth who will be ‘glad ta trim yur palms and haul off all the junk for fifty bucks cash’, you should say ‘okay’, Pop!”  It seems even the kids outgrow fall trimmings, huh?

This blog is posted on:

http://www.rlarrison.blogspot.com   http://www.myspace.com/rlarrison  http://www.linkedin.com/in/rlarrison

FOTFL 274 - 10-01-09

As a long-time pool owner, I have heard many people say that maintenance of the old swimming hole is just not worth the time and money.  To them I reply, I can tell you do not own or use a pool!  Given our climate and the ability we have to swim for more months than we cannot, the opportunity to bathe in the cement pond for each of nearly 210 or more days actually only relieved us of about seventy-five cents a day, and well worth the refreshment and entertainment received.  With a recent wave of nine consecutive days where we received rain showers, I have been battling the onset of a green cast of algae trying to invade our concrete oasis.  In a discussion with Cynthia about part of how I am combating this foe, the disparity of perspective between Mars and Venus became evident.  Referring to the 1999 book by John Gray, who asserts that when it comes to communicating, men and women have totally different points of view, the point was well made.  We were discussing whether changing the way the circulating valves of the pool filtration system might affect the outcome of treatments and thus get rid of the ‘green’ making its way through the normally crystal clear liquid.  By changing the valves, only the intake of the circulation is changed, while the output of the jets remains constant.  Could I make her understand that, my Venus?  Nope.  Could she make me understand her point of inquiry to offer potential suggestions?  Nope!!  How did we discover this dichotomous perspective in light of our forty years of constantly working on our communication skills?  By observing her sister, who began the conversation seated at the kitchen table with us, who now had FOTFL, which for you who are not emoticon and cybertalk savvy is Fallen On The Floor Laughing.  Has this ever happened to you?

This blog is posted on:

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EIGHT VACANCIES 264 - 09-21-09

(A response to Blog 263) Conundrum??!!!!  Dear brother!!!  I am suing for infringement on a reputation – can I do that?  I have ever striven to stretch vocabularies of readers in an effort to pose constant opportunity for individual growth.  Now, I know that you beat me to the infamy of being a published writer (with some pretty fantastic writing, I might add.  [Tuesday Mornings with the Dads] see also www.tuesdayswiththedads.org) but with ‘conundrum’ you have set me back a notch.  I will have to say that by offering your response to my blog, you have actually aided in the efforts to recover some of the gap lost in my ‘catching up’ for which you formidably challenged my resolve.  If you would be so kind as to continue to keep these cards and emails coming, in a somewhat compressed time frame you may single-handedly have me completely back on track, and I will be extremely grateful.  Actually, with your journalistic prowess and impressive contribution to colorful language, I think YOU should offer a regular blog post, and I have just the place for you to start – I still have eight vacant blogs in which you could launch your career.

This blog is posted on:

http://www.rlarrison.blogspot.com   http://www.myspace.com/rlarrison  http://www.linkedin.com/in/rlarrison

RE:A ROSE 263 - 09-20-09

One of the benefits derived from writing blogs is that, once you have finished and posted them in whatever fashion (in my case, first on the internet, then via emails to family and friends) you occasionally receive commentary and responses to the rantings and ravings of a lunatic – that would be me!  With some of my more recent posts, I am coming to realize that more people read than opine, and that I receive the preponderance of annotations from my siblings, whose comments and challenges many of you have perused before.  I thrive on this bantering of sorts as a bonding mechanism we, as brothers, have frequently employed over the years.  Both Rick and John have often teased me until I have no option other than to respond.  In the spirit of “guest blogger’, which I have heretofore utilized, I am inserting Rick’s, my middle brother, response to my blog numbered 262-272 A ROSE, with only a slight preface that everyone is entitled to his own opinon.

“I understand your conundrum, my dear brother. But, does this 1 for 10 BLOG really catch you up or is it just taking the easy way out? I thought your resolve was to post a BLOG entry for each day of the year? Had this 1 for 10 BLOG entry covered 10 different thoughts or been 10 times the length of your normal entry, then perhaps the catch-up would truly have been justified. 

Life is short and unexpected occurrences sometimes get us off our schedule, however you must always save time to stop and smell the roses.

With much Love,

Rick”

There, Rick!!  With the insertion of your email, you have helped me get one blog closer to my initial goal and still provided another opportunity to sniff a rosaceae on you.  Thanks Bro!

This blog is posted on:

http://www.rlarrison.blogspot.com   http://www.myspace.com/rlarrison  http://www.linkedin.com/in/rlarrison

MEMO 273 - 09-30-09

Memo! For the longest time, I thought my grandson was working on some new infant form of interoffice communications as he began uttering his first words and toddling from place to place within the confines of his neoprene play fence.  I searched and searched for the actual reference until, one day, as we were catching passing glimpses from the television, a little red furry creature with an orange proboscis appeared, emanating from the phenomenal Jim Henson Muppeteers – ELMO!!  Now why did I not think of that?  Elmo – Memo – seems logical enough now!  This most loveable of puppets is brought to life by the skillful artistry of Kevin Clash, the falsetto-voiced manipulator of ELMO!  It happened purely by accident, as most truly creative endeavors do, after several of the Sesame Street cast members found the little crimson guy laying around the set and made all kinds of attempts to enliven our special friend.  Making his first actual appearance on Sesame Street around 1972, he was first known just as ‘Baby Monster’.  It was not until the talented Mr. Clash slipped his arm under the fabric of the lifeless form in 1985 that Elmo was born, and from that time until now has referred to himself perpetually in the third person followed by an accompanying hahaha.  Along with his pet goldfish, Dorothy, Elmo is a mainstay at the Larrison household, garnering more individual screen time with our grandson that all other TV personalities combined, and that includes a cutesy purple dinosaur as well.  Having evolved from Memo to Melmo to Emmo, our ruddy friend has finally managed his accurate moniker to Isaac, spoken with all the affection and love that a nearly two-year-old may utter – Elmo!

This blog is posted on:

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A ROSE 262-272 09-19-09

Have you ever noticed how there are just certain times when, for no really apparent reason, you simply just find yourself in a hole – a deep hole?  How did I get here?  Why did I not see this coming and do something to avoid it?  It has happened to all of us at one time or another.  What shall be our response?  Now that things have overtaken me, how will I ever catch up?  With this conundrum collection, it is inevitable that stress and anxiety swell within which then adds even more to the problem.  This is where I find myself today.  A quick perusal of my blog posting reveals that I am now twelve, yes, count them, twelve blogs behind.  What shall I do?  Where will I find twelve topics to develop, especially given the challenge from my brother to find something positive to write about – it really should not be such a difficult thing, given that I have two-hundred-sixty-one behind me already, should it?  But then, how shall I find the wherewithal to produce these missive miniatures in a timely manner without falling even further behind?  You write two and post them, but if it takes three days before you can get back again, you are one more behind and how do you diffuse that pressure?  It suddenly came to me as if in a dream (actually an outgrowth of a nightmare that transformed itself within my mind) – I will write a single blog that counts for ten – my title was simple – 262-272 – there you have it!!!  One page of questions that have permeated my overtaxed brain reducing the entire stress-producing chain of mindless babble into one, concise, easy-to-read-and-identify-with solution to any blogger’s needed weapons in the armory cache of writing.  A single catch-up blog that puts me right back on track without the anguish and rigors of actually writing ten individual blogs, I just compact the timeline into a ten-fold single blog, that simple.  When I first researched, last December, what a blog was, I found it was whatever the author said it was – the author is in control.  Some authors blog only once each week or each month as it may be.  I simply choose in one fell swoop of the laptop to make ten from one – my biggest challenge, what picture to use – I decided upon a single rose, so I can STOP and smell it!!  There!!  Now I am completely up to date!

This blog is posted on:

http://www.rlarrison.blogspot.com   http://www.myspace.com/rlarrison  http://www.linkedin.com/in/rlarrison