Monthly Archives: March 2017

Entry 644: Friars and Pirates and Bearcats, Oh My!

Posted on March 30, 2017 by markhal

Well, this weekend (and Monday), the annual tradition of March Madness comes to an end, and it’s going to get even crazier, because it will be April. And as we watch the Final Four, I’m sure there will be one … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, sports | Tagged Bearcats, binturong, Blue Devils, cockfighting, college mascots, Final Four, gamecocks, Golden Flashes, Grog, hokie, Hokie-Bird, Kent State, March Madness, NCAA tournament, O.M. Stull, Oregon Ducks, Queens College, tar heels, the battering ram, the Golden Flasher, UNC, University of North Carolina, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest Demon Deacons | Leave a comment

Entry 643: More New Old Stuff

Posted on March 28, 2017 by markhal

From time to time, I like to report on the field of archaeology, practitioners of which are always presenting us with wonders of the past. Previously, I’ve told you about finds such as 2,100-year-old eye medication and three-century year old … Continue reading →

Posted in ancient civilizations, archaeology, humor, Uncategorized | Tagged 000-year-old tools, 10, 300-year-old pretzels, Altair 8800, ancient spells, cheese on shipwreck, giant statue, Kronan, MS-DOS, Puget Sound, Ramses II | 2 Comments

Entry 642: A Call from the Past

Posted on March 24, 2017 by markhal

Well, I recently took yet another trip to Coconut Creek, Florida, spent chauffering my dementia-addled mother around to get her hair and nails done; pick up and put down nearly everything on the shelves of the dollar store; and eat … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, technology | Tagged ApplePay, BlackBerry, BlackBerry KEYOne, Coconut Creek, Doro PhoneEasy, Light Phone, Mashable, Mobile World Congress, Nokia 3310, nostalgic phones, phones for seniors, Polaroid, The Festival, Volkswagen Beetle | Leave a comment

Entry 641: World Peace Through Chick Peas

Posted on March 20, 2017 by markhal

Welcome to the Food Network’s new show, Restaurants That Haven’t Closed Yet. It’s where we take you to new and trendy eateries that people can’t wait to get into because they’re new and trendy, but will close as soon as … Continue reading →

Posted in food, humor | Tagged Afghani restaurant, Babylonian Empire, capsule hotels, chick peas, Conflict Kitchen, Cuban restaurant, Dakota pipeline, Food Network, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Haudenosaunee restaurant, huancaina sauce, Ikinari, Iranian food, Kookoo Sibzamini, Neogë, North Korean restaurant, pakora, Peruvian food, potato latkes, torshi makhloot, Trump eats steak with ketchup | 2 Comments

Entry 640: Kiss My Blarney Button With Your Nail Polish Remover

Posted on March 16, 2017 by markhal

Tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day, the one holiday that is impossible to write about without using derogatory ethnic stereotypes. So instead, I’ll tell you about some holidays you can celebrate next week without throwing up. For instance, next week is … Continue reading →

Posted in humor | Tagged Alliance for Consumer Education, American Chocolate Week, Apple Newton, Brain Awareness Week, Canada Mints, National Button Society, National Button Week, National Inhalants & Poisons Awareness Week, NIPAW, St. Patrick’s Day, Tsunami Awareness Week | Leave a comment

Entry 639: Just Sign Here

Posted on March 13, 2017 by markhal

So our financial advisor sold us an annuity recently. He made a very convincing case for it, and since we’ve already entrusted him with our life savings, we figured, why the hell not. After all, if he was going to … Continue reading →

Posted in humor | 2 Comments

Bonus Post: Don’t Play With Time

Posted on March 11, 2017 by markhal

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always had a problem with Daylight Savings Time. Wait, let me rephrase that. It’s not DST specifically I have a problem with, it’s the idea that we can fool around with time at … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged daylight savings time, DST, George Hudson, train schedules, William Willett | 1 Comment

Entry 638: The Checks Are in the Mail. So Are the Balances.

Posted on March 10, 2017 by markhal

If there’s one thing we all remember of what we learned in school about the U.S. government, it’s the phrase “checks and balances.” Also, the chuckle we enjoyed when we first heard the name “Millard Fillmore.” Our Founding Fathers created … Continue reading →

Posted in humor, politics | Tagged branches of government, checks and balances, Chris Christie, Congress, Constitution, founding fathers, Lindsey Graham, Marco Rubio, Millard Fillmore, quartering of soldiers, Supreme Court, Ted Cruz, Third Amendment, two-party system | Leave a comment

Entry 637: I Don’t Want to Carp on This, But…

Posted on March 7, 2017 by markhal

Since our daughter Casey was born over 30 years ago, my family has had a lot of pets. If we made a graphic of all the pets we’ve had, it would look like one of those evolution charts, albeit one … Continue reading →

Posted in humor | Tagged Grow-a-Frog, kids pets, putting a pet to sleep, putting down a pet, surgery on a fish | 2 Comments

Entry 636: What Does the Pope Know?

Posted on March 1, 2017 by markhal

Mark’s Note: With leading biologists and ecologists gathering this week for a conference at The Vatican, President Trump asked Scott Pruitt, his pick to head the Environmental Protection Agency, to write a rebuttal to whatever scientific hokum comes out of … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, humor, politics | Tagged climate change, Dakota pipeline, Donald Trump, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, Holy See, Kellyanne Conway, oil industry, Pope Francis, President Trump, Republican Attorneys General Association, Scott Pruitt, Sean Spicer, sixth extinction, Swiss guard, vatican, Vatican conference | 1 Comment