Tidbits

1: Signs are one of my pet peeves, as well as a source of endless entertainment. I mean, of course, those which are poorly worded or badly in need of punctuation. I long ago lost track of how many Burger King signs informed the world that they were hiring whoppers. The speculation on the permutations of that policy kept me going for hours, over months. Sometimes cleverness shows itself, as in a local video store that managed to arrange new movie titles so if you ran them all together they almost made sense, however peculiarly. My all-time favorite was a gas station in Chisago City a number of years ago that invited us to stop in and try out their new fancy car wash: "It'll knock your socks off!" Unfortunately, somebody caught on after about three days and found a gentler invitation.

2: The second biggest drawback of listening to commercial radio is the incessant bombardment with commercials. I have gotten very good at tuning them out while driving, or if I can't, forgetting them quickly after they play. My ears did perk up tonight, however, when one of them closed its big sale announcement with, "Offer good until supplies last."

3: MPR is much more my speed for consistent radio quality, and I'm lucky enough to be listening in Minnesota with three easily accessible stations, 2 music and one news. This afternoon I was listening to some expert expound on the rationalle for arresting somebody in Turkey who had a house full of explosives. It was set in the context of a government/military rift. Perhaps it was the presentation that started me giggling, as dry as a traffic report with absolutely no awareness of any kind of humor, when he stated, "Collecting C-4 is not a proper hobby."