Randomly Random Observations...
...stuff that I've always kinda wondered about...

The Internet: I've long wondered Where the Internet Actually Is. Does it have a physical Place you can go to? When you buy an address online, who gets the money? I sometimes see a page that reads "this domain for sale" when an old link doesn't work. Does someone own the internet? Can you drive or fly somewhere and actually go to the Headquarters of the Internet? And if Al Gore invented the internet, does he get royalties? I've always wondered about this. Whose web is it? And if someone pays space rent on the internet, who's the landlord? It's not Bill Gates' Web, although he'd like to think he owns it. Whether on an I-Mac or a P-C, you're still going to the same Internet. I think so, anyway...and we all know Bill Gates doesn't own Apple Computers. Yet...

Since when did a burger become a Sandwich?: It still sounds weird to me. Whenever I see a Burger King Commercial, they're always calling it a Sandwich. Is a "Whopper" a Sandwich? Maybe, technically...but Burgers are round, while Sandwiches are, well, shaped like a slice of bread; round at the top, with right-angled corners at the bottom. If you go to the store to buy outer coverings for your rounded meat patties, they're not labeled "Round Sandwich Bread"; they're called "Hamburger Buns", f'cryin' out loud. To me, a Burger is a Burger, not a Sandwich. And a hot dog isn't a "tubular sandwich", it's a hot dog! End of story. Although, maybe the descriptive term, 'burger', has more to do with what's in it. If you run out of Sandwich Bread, and spread Peanut Butter and Jelly on a hamburger bun, it's a sandwich, right? A round sandwich. Hmmm...I can tell I've gotta think about this some more...

So what the heck's going on with Gasoline?: A while back, I paid $1.59 a gallon. Then I paid $1.77 a couple weeks later. The next time, I paid $1.63 a gallon, and today I drove past, and gas today was $1.95! (all price quotes were on the readerboard at my favorite fill-em-up-fast Gasoline Station...) I 'spose I shouldn't complain, though; after all, it's not close to $5.00 a gallon like it was quite a while ago. And now the economy's so shaky that no one knows what to do. Gas is back down to the point where it's semi-affordable, and still, the automakers can't seem to get rid of their big vehicles...such as the Dodge RAM humonguous and highly arrogant-looking oversized tyrannosaurus of a truck. Maybe the economy will get so bad that the oil companies will pay US to put their gas in our tanks. SLAP!!! WHACK!!! OOF!!! I can't believe I actually typed that...I must be nuts. Quick...put a muzzle on me...

Is there someone lonelier than the Maytag Repairman?: Maybe soon. Most Ex-Prezzidents are admired after they leave office. To that you say, "Nixon". Well, okay, good point. But to bolster my argument, how about Bill Clinton? Even though, anymore, he's a joke, he gets paid thousands upon thousands of dollars giving speeches to various political sewing circles. Jimmy Carter has done more good since leaving the Prezzidency; he's something of a statesman, and look what he's done with the whole Habitat for Humanity thing. And, Reagan...he may have done some things wrong, yeah, but The Man absolutely Commanded Respect, and he'll always have mine. And then there's George W. Bush. Who's gonna even wanna be SEEN with him? Some newsreel footage I saw a while back was taken at some summit-meeting somewhere, with a bunch of dignitaries shaking hands with other dignitaries. And no one made a move to shake George W. Bush's hand. And, I actually felt kinda bad for him. I said, 'kinda'.

Why is no credit bad credit? Actually, this topic's been sitting on my back burner for quite a while. Last year, when I took my bird to the vet clinic, they either wanted cash up front, or they wanted to establish I had good credit. So they dialed up their bureau of administrative amalgamated conglomerate group of credit bureaus, which is hooked up to all kinds of nationwide credit union info databases, and, no, it turned out I didn't have good enough credit. I got a letter about a month afterwards, explaining that decision. The Credit People said that because I had NO credit transactions on my record, I Was Undependable. Huh? What? I didn't owe anybody anything at that point, and my credit is bad because of that? I pay my bills. But, in America, you have to take credit risks in order to have good credit. If you pay for everything with cold hard cash, on time, well, something major's just gotta be wrong with you. Okay, whatever...

What was the first-ever 45rpm record? Aha, finally, a question that I can Actually Answer. Way back when, Columbia records invented the 33 1/3 long-playing album. And, RCA Victor came up with a development of its own; namely, the 45rpm record. It was pressed on a really weird-looking shade of ocean-mist-green, and the label was printed with gold type that actually wore off the label after a few plays. (I've actually owned some Really Early RCA discs, but not the one I'm referring to here.) The catalog number of the record below is 47-0001 (no, I don't know what the '47 actually stands for; my guess is that it stands for '1947', perhaps, which might be the year 45rpm technology was invented?), and it's by The Tennessee Plowboy Himself, Mr. Eddy Arnold...a toe-tappin' song called "Texarkana Baby".



The Catalog Number is on the left of the label. So why is the plastic green, you ask? I can answer that one, too. RCA probably envisioned their profits going thru the roof; after all, 45's were tiny, less expensive to produce, more durable than old shellac 78's, and they were easy to handle. The Green Obviously Represents All The Money ($$$$) RCA knew it would make from 45rpm records. Follow the money!
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So what is the point of this post? It's designed to take up space and fulfill some sort-of quota I've imposed upon myself, that of blogging At Least Twice Weekly. Am I having a Happy New Year Yet?