In my opinion, the phrase referred to in the next paragraph shows more disrespect to your fellow listener than any other collection of words I can think of. “Having said that” comes close, but it doesn’t snap the trap on the poor soul that is listening! “Having said that” just insinuates that the listener is stupid and you have to remind him that he should have been paying attention to what you just said. Think about it. Aren’t we aware that our listener is alert to the fact that when we have finished talking, we will just “Have said that?”
But the phrase that really tangles my spaghetti is when the person talking ends a sentence with, ”If you will?” Example: “Like a cat tangled in a ball of yarn, if you will.“ There isn’t room for a “What if I won’t?” As a matter of fact, there is no response expected! Boom! The listener has just been trapped! The person talking might as well have said, “That’s the way it is, like a tangled up cat, like it or not. Just shut-up and keep listening ‘cause I‘m not going to try to untangle any animal, regardless of what you think!”
I vote we cancel this unfriendly phraseology from the English language!

I want to use this blog to thank all of you for your prayers and concern for me during my surgery and recovery. Everyone says that I'm doing really well and I'm tempted to believe them! Its good to be back!

After today, I'll be splashing around outside the stream for a while. I'm scheduled to have both knees replaced on Monday. I'll miss you all!

(This is not original but try it and see what happens.)
Have fun with this one! “This is a dog, this is a cat” racing around a circle in opposite directions.
You can use any two objects, for this game, one object is a dog and the other a cat. This works best when there are approximately eight people sitting around a table or in a circle. You will be the head of the circle and will start the race. You are holding the dog in your left hand and the cat in your right hand and you tell every one which is the dog and which is the cat. The dog starts and is passed to the left, as soon as you get rid of the dog, the cat is passed to the right.
You explain that the rules are simple - I’ll say, ”This is a dog” and I'll hand the dog to the first person on my left. But, before that person can take the dog, he/she has to ask me, “A what?” I’ll say, “A dog” The person then takes the dog, turns to the next person and handing them the dog says, “This is a dog.” Again the person can’t take the dog before they ask, “A what?” The “A what?“ question gets passed clear back to me every time, because I’m the only one qualified to answer “A dog.“ So, by the time its the fourth person’s turn to take the dog, he/she would ask the third person, ”A what?” The third would ask the second, the second would ask the first, then “A what?“ back to me. I will say’, “A dog.” It will sound like this. (Third person to fourth person) “This is a dog.” (Fourth person to third) “A what?”, (Third person to second) “A what?”, (Second person to first) “A what?”, (first person to me) “A what?”, (I will answer) “A dog.”, (first person to second) “A dog.”, (2nd to 3rd) “A dog.”, (3rd to 4th) “This is a dog.”, (4th Takes the dog, turns to the fifth person) “This is a dog.”, (Fifth person) “A what.”, “A what.”, “A what.”, and so on. I will start “This is a cat.” around to my right as soon as I’ve gotten rid of the dog. The same rules apply to “This is a cat.” We’ll see which one makes it all the way around the circle and back to me first! Any questions? “This is a dog.”
You have to remain aware that you are the leader, when “A what?” comes back to you from your left the answer is, ”A dog.” When “A what?” comes back to you from your right the answer is “A cat.” Have fun! Please let me know the results!

Is it possible to containerize a little chunk of old space and move it through new space? When I walk, does my space walk with me, or am I continuously walking into and out of new space (or is it spaces)? Ok, so let’s say that my space is stubborn and won’t walk along with me. Then, when I’m carrying an empty tin bucket without a lid, am I carrying old space inside the bucket through new space outside the bucket or is the wind stirring the mix as I walk? Can a person own a chunk of space? If the answer to that question is no, then who owns the space inside my tin bucket when I’m the driver, have no passengers and all doors and windows are closed? Will pieces of space outside this fast moving tin bucket be blown away or just be ruffled by the wind? And for the sake of conversation, let’s pretend my tin bucket is a two-seater moving along at 70 mph and a fly, in the back seat, is anxiously wanting to ride shotgun beside me in the front seat, how fast will the poor creature have to fly to get to the front seat? Maybe someone should write a song about how our life entangles with the mysteries of space and the fly!
When you’re through with that one, here is another serious question. “If its zero degrees outside and global warming suddenly heats it twice that hot, how cold would it be?”