Welcome to Ocala.com Blogs

Ad Perfect | Ocala.com | Star-Banner | Ocala, FL

Opinion

Home > Opinion > Blogs > Frame 37

Ocala.com Bloggers

Search Blogs



KeywordsPhrase

Blog Archives

Archive

August 2007

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Monthly

September, 2008

August, 2008

July, 2008

June, 2008

May, 2008

April, 2008

March, 2008

February, 2008

January, 2008

December, 2007

November, 2007

October, 2007

Sly Comments

Author:	Emory Schley	Created:	10/4/2006 3:15 PM
Readers are invited to comment on any of the items or discussion seen below, or any matter of concern here in Beautiful Marion County!

There's a lot more to the subject of color than just hues and chroma
	By Emory Schley on 8/31/2007 5:02 AM

I’ve long been fascinated by colors. When I was a high school student, we were taught about the three primary colors: red, yellow and blue – and how mixing them together in various combinations would recreate virtually any color in the visible spectrum. The process wasn’t perfect of course. One had to mix all three together to get an approximation of black which at best turned out to be rather drab, lifeless and only a poor imitation of black. No lustrous depth of color there. But, black, we were told, wasn’t really a color at all, but an absence of color. White on the other hand, was the presence of all colors. Then, why, I asked, if white is the presence of all colors, do we get this muddy amalgam of almost black when we mix red, yellow and bl ...

Comments (0)	More...

Is there something odd going on with the number 20?
	By Emory Schley on 8/29/2007 4:54 AM

I have from time-to-time wondered if there is any mystical significance to the number 20. Why 20, and not some other number, you might ask? Well, 20 just seems to pop up with some regularity, at least often enough for me to have noticed. My first mysterious encounter with that “mystical” number was in a dental assistant course I took in my youth. When the curriculum got around to the subject of taking X-rays, we were taught that as voltage rose into the neighborhood of 20 kilovolts, X-rays began to be generated which were capable of penetrating soft tissue. For some reason that particular number stuck with me. Years later in studying radio phenomena, I read that radio wave ...

Comments (1)	More...

Air-conditioning's effect cools off neighborly interactions
	By Emory Schley on 8/27/2007 4:41 AM

The Dog Days of August are well-named. They bring to mind another old saying: Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon-day sun. I guess there must not be any English blood in me at all because I have four air-conditioners – one in the house, one in my ham shack, and one each in the two cars – and ALL of them have had a herculean workout this month. In fact, it appears their labors have no end in sight for at least another month, perhaps six weeks or so. We’ve had some hot summers before but this one seems to be more punishing than most. Ahah! “Global warming” is what some of you are thinking. & ...

Comments (0)	More...

The Internet has a role in Man's evolving political structure
	By Emory Schley on 8/24/2007 4:53 AM

Letting off a bit of steam every now and then, and complaining about things in general and life in particular seems to be a popular pastime these days. I participate in this nonsense, too, and am as guilty – perhaps even more so – as anyone else. But, from time to time, it just might be profitable for all of us to stop for a moment and make mental note of the fact that complaining, loudly and indignantly and to as many as will hear us, is really the unfettered expression of an opinion, and as such, probably has at least several Constitutional mandates guaranteeing us the right to scream loud and long. At least within the borders of the United States of America. &a ...

Comments (0)	More...

The constant need to remain ahead of the pack
	By Emory Schley on 8/22/2007 5:01 AM

Have you ever had someone pass you while you were driving, then pull over in front of you, and just kind of hang there? It’s happened to me any number of times. It’s like some people just cannot tolerate driving behind someone else. I understand the feeling because I’m subject to it, too. When I was younger, I used to pass up motorists ahead of me, then they would pass me, then I’d reciprocate. After awhile it got to be a somewhat tiresome game, and I began to see the futility of such shenanigans, so I try to avoid doing that now. If I do pass someone, I usually keep the gas pedal down long enough to put some real distance between us. No one likes being stuck behind an 18-wheeler and I have laboriously passed many of them on the highway, only to have them pass me by in turn ...

Comments (0)	More...

Don't wait to prepare for a hurricane: Do it now!
	By Emory Schley on 8/20/2007 4:58 AM

There’s generally a two-month window during our annual hurricane season when the tropical regions belch up their greatest threats to us – hurricane-wise, that is. That window runs approximately from Aug. 15 through Oct. 15. Having just stepped into the increased activity weeks, it would behoove each of us to get serious about hurricane preparedness. Yes, hurricanes rarely hit us. Lightning seldom hits anyone either, but that doesn’t mean you should tempt the Fates. The very moment it looks like a hurricane may be churning down on us – take my word for it – most of those items in the stores you should be stocking up on now, like flashlight batteries, portable radios, canned goods, bottled water, etc. almost instantly ...

Comments (0)	More...

The day the only King in America died
	By Emory Schley on 8/17/2007 4:54 AM

Yesterday marked the 30th Anniversary of the death of The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley. I remember that day well. I had gotten off work about 4 p.m., and had stopped in the Kash ‘n’ Karry grocery store on State Road 44 in Inverness to pick up some bread and eggs on the way home. I was standing in the checkout line when I heard two young women in front of me discussing someone who had died. “They found him dead in his bathroom,” one said. The other replied, “I know, it’s so tragic. Whoever would have believed he would die so young?” – or words to that effect. I wondered momenta ...

Comments (0)	More...

Standing at the threshold of 'A Brave New World'
	By Emory Schley on 8/15/2007 4:47 AM

I was reading a story on the newswire recently here at work about how some scientists think an artificial lifeform will be created in a laboratory sometime between three and 10 years from now. They have reduced the problem to a three-step process, and the first of the steps is expected to become reality in the very near future. Such a scientific advance is likely to have far-reaching consequences for mankind, affecting everything from medicine to religion. It’s expected that custom-engineered lifeforms will be able to chomp away at oil spills out at sea, and then perhaps to tackle other forms of environmental pollution here on land. Bacteria-sized struc ...

Comments (1)	More...

Some commercials just grind against the grain
	By Emory Schley on 8/13/2007 4:51 AM

I really don’t know why, but some commercials on TV really irritate the heck out of me, and I really can’t figure out why in all cases. Some TV commercials are absolute gems, masterpieces of the cinematic arts, but unfortunately, many fall somewhere at the opposite end of the scale. Some are just abysmally stupid, so it’s easy to figure out why they are offensive. But others reside in some vast gray area where some element, or attitude, or implementation, or whatever, just grinds against my grain, big-time. One of those presentations that belong to this category are the Bright House commercials featuring an asterisk. My flesh starts crawling whenever one pops up, followed quickly by an increasing heart rate. Those commercials irritate me on at least several levels. For one, the concept just seems plain stupid to me. For another, what they refer to as an asteri ...

Comments (5)	More...

Make it difficult for those who would steal from you
	By Emory Schley on 7/27/2007 4:29 AM

The subject of computer passwords comes up with some regularity. Today’s world is full of passwords, from PIN numbers to passwords for Web sites and access to personal banking information on the Internet. It’s best to spend a bit of time on coming up with a good, strong password. Even the best password will eventually crumble to a concerted attack, but there are a number of steps you can take to ensure your passwords will be as difficult as possible to decipher. Don’t use any words that can be found in a dictionary. Don’t use personal names, especially of your children, grandkids, or pets. Choose a phrase that has some meaning to you, enough so that you’re not likely to forget it. It could be “Looking for a few good ...

Comments (0)	More...

An alphabet soup of mysterious language
	By Emory Schley on 7/25/2007 4:58 AM

I’ve often wondered if life would be any easier if we suddenly banned the existence or use of acronyms, especially those that are used in the computer field. Acronyms are abbreviations of terms that are sometimes real tongue-twisters, and I can see where jargon in various fields, especially those of a highly technical nature, would rely heavily on acronyms. Only problem is us ordinary folk haven’t a clue, sometimes, about what a person is speaking about, when they start throwing acronyms and various other technical abbreviations around with abandon. CRC is one I used to come across frequently when I was reading about the inner workings of a computer. This Cyclic Redundancy Check is somewhat like a checksum in that it is used to identif ...

Comments (0)	More...

In search of a perfect balance with forces of Nature
	By Emory Schley on 7/23/2007 4:57 AM

On this blog a while back, I talked about balancing an egg on end. It can be done with sufficient time and patience, but it’s a very delicate process. If you get the balance off by a hair, literally, the egg will roll over on its side. A couple of weeks ago, I actually got two eggs to stand up, side-by-side, simultaneously. They weren’t touching because there was a comfortable inch of so of airspace separating them. I’ve discovered a much easier way of balancing eggs if your patience won’t let you do it the hard way. If you spread a cloth towel on the table’s surface, then balance the egg on top of the towel, it’s much easier than trying to balance it on a smooth, hard surface. If you use a towel ...

Comments (0)	More...

Here's an idea to relieve traffic congestion at accident sites
	By Emory Schley on 7/20/2007 7:19 AM

I was reading something the other day about rubber-neckers and gawkers creating traffic slowdowns as they creep by an accident trying to see whatever tragedy has taken place on the roadside. I guess it’s only human nature to want to know what’s going on, and to see if anyone’s been hurt, but when everyone does it in an unending line of traffic, it sure does impede the traffic flow. I’ve been caught in these situations a few times, as we all have, and it’s never much fun. Slowing down to 15-20 mph, or even less, on busy I-75 and seeing a stalled line of traffic that stretches to the horizon is not the most thrilling experience of our live ...

Comments (5)	More...

A look back at the Miami that used to be
	By Emory Schley on 7/18/2007 5:02 AM

Was it Thomas Wolfe, who said, “You can never go home again”? I’ve often thought about that quotation whenever I’ve found myself strolling through some old haunts, places that once were as familiar as the face on my watch, but that now seem somehow foreign and not quite right. We left Miami 36 years ago, and on my very infrequent trips back to that city, those “somehow foreign and not quite right” feelings burdened my spirit. However, a reader of my print column, also a former resident of south Florida, sent me a URL for a web-site maintained by a fellow whose love for the old Miami is quite apparent. His site is filled with images of a Miami ...

Comments (1)	More...

Fixing stuff is not necessarily a good thing all the time
	By Emory Schley on 7/16/2007 5:15 AM

Have you ever noticed how many times things get screwed up when someone attempts to make improvements? Guess I’m just getting too old, but so many times, I have seen perfectly good products or projects get hopelessly fouled up after someone decided to improve on what was already working pretty well for most of society. There is an old saying about “If it isn’t broken, then don’t try to fix it.” I only wish that message would get some serious attention from governmental officials, but then again, perhaps they figure they have to “fix” stuff in order to justify the expenses they run up and the salaries they are paid. ...

Comments (1)	More...

Simply the greatest comic strip of all time!
	By Emory Schley on 7/13/2007 4:52 AM

Cartoon strips in the newspaper have always been a family favorite. The best comic strip I ever read, in my opinion, was “Li’l Abner,” by Al Capp. The cartoonist was responsible for many facets of our modern culture even though the strip officially ended back in 1977, after a 43-year run. Among many of Capp’s “inventions” were the Schmoo, Kickapoo Joy Juice, the two words “irregardless” (according to some authorities) and “druthers” as in, “Irregardless, if’n I had my ‘druthers,’ I’d be in Dogpatch.” He’s also the one who was responsible for&nbs ...

Comments (2)	More...

Just who is the REAL environmentalist here?
	By Emory Schley on 7/11/2007 3:57 PM

I came across some information the other day that I found somewhat startling. Not exactly earth-shaking stuff, but unexpected enough to cause me a bit of concern. There apparently has been a communication making its rounds on the Internet about the amount of electricity used in the Al Gore household in Tennessee. Yes, that Al Gore. The information claims that he uses, on average, about 12 times the amount of electricity that the average home uses, or in other words, he uses as much in a month as most people use in a year. Yes, this is the same Al Gore who is forever preaching about environmental issues and the dangers of global warming. & ...

Comments (4)	More...

Getting some exercise even if you don't feel like it
	By Emory Schley on 7/11/2007 3:47 PM

Mowing grass is not one of my fondest activities but it is perhaps the only one that provides me with some physical exercise. For the past dozen years or so, I have deliberately avoided buying a riding lawnmower, because I figured if I had a mower I had to push around my yard every week or two, that would force me to engage in at least a modest level of physical activity most of the year. A second benefit of a push mower is that it’s considerably cheaper than the kind you sit on. It’s also a lot easier to live with than the older push mowers. Every time I fire ol’ Betsy up, I find myself uttering a silent &ld ...

Comments (0)	More...

A brush with American history: He wielded a mighty pen!
	By Emory Schley on 7/6/2007 7:58 PM

Over the Fourth of July holiday, I pretty much stayed indoors. Getting too old for the heat put out by that old summertime Florida sun. However, while relaxing in air-conditioned comfort and camped out in front of the TV set with a cold one in my hand, I was reminded of a fellow in Kansas, the late Don Matlack. He was a pretty nice fellow, a lawyer and a former one-term State Senator in Kansas. He was married to my cousin Ardena, herself a 10-year member of the Kansas House of Representatives. Don liked to tell the story of one of his ancestors, the guy who "wrote" the Declaration of Independence. (Yes, THAT Declaration of Independence.) When Don first told me of his ...

Comments (0)	More...

Reality check on nation's birthday
	By Emory Schley on 7/4/2007 10:43 PM

So, happy birthday Uncle Sam. For an old guy with 231 candles on his cake, you still look pretty good. A bit rough around the edges, a bit bowed with the problems of the world, and a bit suspicious perhaps of other countries’ intentions, but all in all, you’re not doing too bad for an old guy. I suppose I could mention lots of little nit-picking problems that probably keep you awake at night, you know, stuff like illegal immigration, supposed global warming, a couple of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a Social Security fund that’s on its way to bankruptcy, and a bunch of politicians eager to pander to the electorate just to extend their own personal power and agendas, an inflation rate th ...

Comments (0)	More...

Copyright © Ocala.com — All rights reserved. Restricted Use only. Login