Cowboy Bob Sorensen

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  This is a lighter subject, but first, some background is needed. A spell back, I wrote an article that should be practical for bereaved people as well as those who are not going through grief. It involved having routines. I lost my wife, and she was also my best friend for about twenty-four years. The grief fog (kind of like being in shock) was heavy in me, and caused much confusion. Be kind to those who mourn, they are often not thinking clearly. And very tired. My laundry needs are simple because I am alone: Everything in one machine, wash in cold water. (Detergents have improved over the years, and clothes come out well.) But I detest shrinking shirts, so those don't go in the dryer. I live near Laundroland (my name for it, not theirs), so I bring home the shirts and put them on hangers and on the shower curtain bar to dry. Cooler becomes laundry tote The hamper gets carted back and forth, and my rule is to empty out the damp clothes, then put it in fro...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  This is a mite wordy, but it is light reading. Although I am going through pain that I could never have imagined, and sometimes wonder about my sanity, good things happen. That grief fog is (in my case) characterized by forgetfulness and distractions. I have to do my own laundry. Kind people were doing it for me while I was under cardiologist restrictions not to lift more than ten pounds. When I was cleared to ease into going back to work, I started doing laundry. This was one of the many things Charlene did. I watched a video on how to do it. Washers and dryers very similar to where I live, Unsplash / Douglas Monterrosa Being alone now and having simple tastes, it is rather easy. I decided that I had time before church, and the laundry center at the apartment complex was open. The grief fog was not too bad and I was feeling a bit more alert. I gathered everything, went over, put in the wash, set my timer, and came back to the apartment. Twenty-some minutes ...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  This is a quick bit of weirdness that I came across when preparing for a post. The article that will be featured involves a Darwinian fantasy about pre-humans and how chewing helped their brains get bigger. Yes, some jaspers really think that. The article goes on to discuss fire and cooked food and had a picture of allegedly primitive hominins around a fire Since I do not like to use the same image used by the post I am featuring, I remembered this one, which has been listed as public domain: Artist's conception of Neanderthals 60,000 years ago, NASA / JPL-Caltech (usage does not imply endorsement of site contents) Although the picture is all over the web, some users gave credit to the source. (I like to do that as well, even when not required.) It's supposed to be humans at 60,000 Darwin years ago, and some credits say that those are Neanderthals. (The article at the link below the picture implies they were looking at Mars during a close approach to Ea...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen  The title is a bit outdated, referring to a piece of women's clothing worn under a dress. They are less common now because of new styles. A woman would be embarrassed to be told, "Your slip is showing". Since I like word play, this is going to add another meaning: Freudian slip. Someone has a slip of the tongue, a so-called Freudian slip (parapraxis), and some people act like psychology experts. The misstatement becomes a "Gotcha!" moment because inner truth was revealed. Original image: Pixabay /  ArtTower Although many people think that Ziggy Freud, the putative father of psychoanalysis, is still revered among psychologists, quite the opposite is true. Freud was a fraud and most experts in psychology do not take him seriously anymore. Some of his lingo is still with us, and a few things may have an iota of validity. We all have verbal slip-ups. They may be caused by fatigue, being preoccupied, distracted, or whatever. Sometimes they...

This is actually a funny series of inspirations. First of all, we are fine, no wicked viruses here mate. Desperate for exercise (I work at home now), I wanted to walk to store and get some things. This is New York and the media panicporn is in high gear, so I didn't know if I would be walking into a police state atmosphere or terrified people. But I don't have a mask. Okay, saw a video about making your own with a bandana, two rubber bands, and tucking it in. Didn't work they way it was designed (as a square), so I rotated it so the points were like a compass, due north was up, etc., and folded it that way. Then I tied it in the back, put on my hat, grabbed a shootin' iron, and had my wife take a picture. She was disappointed that shooting me was only with a camera, but oh well. When I got to the shop, I was the only one wearing a mask. Social distancing as much as is reasonable in the small place. (Some were getting milk shakes...essential se...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Business often try to attract attention from prospective customers with advertisements and logos, but those efforts can be negated when the name is unimpressive. Some names resonate, but bad names can lead to catastrophic marketing systems failures. Names seem all right at first glance, but may put people off if they think about them. This chicken is not impressed and has nothing to do with this article. Credit: Pixabay /  Andy M All y'all have probably seen pictures and lists of interesting names. Some are designed to get your attention with humor , others  are unfortunate for various reasons . (My advice to people who want to use their name in their business but the name is a bit odd: reconsider, or play it up.) I come across interesting names in the course of my duties and wanted to pick on one in particular. No need to give you more than the word evolution . It is used as part of the name of several physical rehabilitation companies. While...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Way back yonder, before Roku and other streaming devices, before we had the evil known as cable television, I saw an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show called "Father of the Week". It aired in 1962, so I appreciated it in syndicated reruns. Maybe I did see it on cable after all. Rob (his character) was giving a talk to the kids about being a comedy writer. When he stumbled , the kids laughed. He pointed out that people laugh because they are surprised; something is unexpected. The old slapstick pie-in-the-face routine lost its charm long ago because it was used so much, but can be funny when it has an unexpected twist. Surprise is lost when jokes have to be explained, and they're usually not as funny. My humor has been called "dry", and I see that this definition says that it is based on word play with a straight or "deadpan" expression. Well, some of my humor influences use plays on words. I like ambiguity in hu...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen Edited 9-18-2017 After I get this here article done, I am going to submit it to the Irony Board for approval. Unfortunately, the words irony, ironic and related words are greatly overused, and often incorrectly. I've been confused myself because of seeing many instances of, "This is ironic..." that may or may not have been used correctly. Seems that quite a few people are uncertain about the proper usage, and there is a site where someone can ask if something is ironic . What is the real meaning? The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as , "a situation in which something which was intended to have a particular result has the opposite or a very different result". But irony has several meanings and applications, which includes using it as a literary device. Using this picture of iron in an article about irony is a play on words, it is not ironic. Credit: Pixabay / ptdh . I've been accused of unintended irony against myself on...

by Cowboy Bob Sorensen No, this isn't about my saying rude things to the computer when it doesn't work the way it's supposed to. This is about wording choices in general. It's easy nowadays to have a misunderstanding, especially on the Web. At The Question Evolution Project , I made a remark about "st00pid dumb Xtians" that someone disliked. Mayhaps he was in a in a bit of a hurry, and sent a message: What is an Xtian??? If you don't have enough respect to spell out Christian, then you have little, or no power, to persuade. I will unfollow you. Since he wrote, I figured he would let me reply, so I wrote back: No need to get all excited, I also said "st00pid dumb" in that sentence. It was sarcasm on how anti-Christians treat us, and I have been called that several times - but not by Christians. Although "Xtian" (or "Xian") is considered by some to be a legitimate abbreviation, I don't use it unless I'm being sar...