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Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 313

On August 28, 2008, my first post appeared on these pages. Eight years later,

  • 1,853 posts
  • 266,745 visits
  • 69,786 comments appear, but probably half are mine because I believe hosts should interact with visitors
  • Proudly, I covered a wide-range of topics.

My biggest pride lies in the fact how I reciprocated visits with so many bloggers. I’ve outlasted many bloggers, while others chose to no-longer visit. Stats here have been spiraling downward for some time, but my lack of visiting others in recent months is evident.

Many thanks to all the visitors here, but especially to the long-time visitors who have stuck with me for many years and took time to comment. Although I’m still in the process of change, time will tell what is ahead for these pages. However, I’m not done yet!

My golf league ended with a thud. After leading the first 4 weeks of the third 5-week mini-season of the year, I didn’t get it done on the last week. To make matters worse, a bizarre rule kept me out of the final 4 playoffs for the season. I took the high road by not complaining, but I foresee a rule change in the future that would prevent a situation like this in the future.

Embed from Getty Images

In this election, I think the partisans are making a big mistake with the true independents. I’ve noticed many partisans spending more time trying to convince someone not to vote for the other candidate (as opposed to reasons to vote for their candidates). What the partisans don’t realize is that their approach encourages contrarians like me to go in the opposite direction of their desires.

This election is ridiculous in many ways, mainly the lack of discussion about important issues.

Earlier this week I listened to an interview with Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein. Yes, I didn’t make it to the end of the interview.

To me, one thing scarier than Donald Trump is the number of people who cheer when he says something totally stupid. However, I realize that this is not true for all of his supporters.

Because of the toxic political climate with the USA, I will continue to hope that the November election yields divided government – that is, one party does not control the White House and both chambers of Congress.

President Obama’s Five Faults of the Week
Mistakes made by Donald Trump
All events in Rio when the US didn’t win the gold
Approaching hurricane season
Forming ISIS
Ryan Lochte

Embed from Getty Images

To let you into this week’s dose of satirical headlines, The Onion gives the pros and cons of tiny houses.

Weekly Headlines from The Onion (combos welcome)
Gifted, Passionate Student Really Stretching Limits Of School’s Resources
Olympic swimmer admits the Rio pool much wetter than expected
Humanity Hoping It Only Has To Put Up With Few More Millennia Of This Shit
Scientists Confirm First Case Of Zika Transmission From Article To Reader
School Of The Arts Aims To Transform Boys And Girls Into Insufferable Young Men And Women

Interesting Reads
France vs. Jihadist
Unique sperm delivery
How we see colors in nature
Neutrinos and the Big Bang
A short history of solar cells
(Photos) Insight Astronomy contest winners

Although the weekend is already upon us, I still have to end this post with a song. Interestingly, this blog shares a birthday with one of my long-time favorites. Hope all is well with you, and in the words of Garrison Keillor, Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

95 thoughts on “Opinions in the Shorts: Vol. 313”

  2. I’ve been absent on and off – mostly off – for about three months; but I’m back, reading and posting. I’ve been wondering where you were – I was hoping a tropical cruise or something similar. 🙂 Congrats on the 8 years!

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  3. Congratulations on the eight years, Frank. Glad you’re not going anywhere.
    I’m sure the rules committee at your club will do the right thing but it doesn’t help you much this year, does it?
    Sadly, I’ve stopped watching any form of election coverage. Can’t stomach the constant regurgitation of the same words and insults. Besides, I knew all I needed to know about both of these embarrassing candidates a long time ago. If we can hit rewind and start all over with different results maybe I’ll watch again. I just hope this abomination only lasts four years, the country isn’t compromised and someone of worth reveals him or herself soon because what has gone on here is depressing.

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    • George,
      The golf situation is unfortunate, but I’m taking the high road … and yes, I imagine a rule change will be in order for next year.

      Yes, this election is pathetic on many levels. I too am watching less news this time around. Normally, I would leave that space on the ballot blank, but this time I will probably cast my vote as an against rather than a for.

      Many thanks for the kind words.

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  6. Congrats on eight years! Good perspective on trying to convince undecideds on not voting for a candidate. I agree wholeheartedly. I have always voted Democrat, but have become disillusioned with the party since before Pres Obama’s second term. Telling me to vote for a candidate only because they aren’t the other candidate is insulting. During the primary season I was fascinated with the process; now I’m just depressed with it all. In the meantime, the rich get richer and the world’s temperatures keep rising ..:

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  8. WOW – What a treat! – while randomly surfing my favorite websites this morning from a lonely corner of my renovation devastated house – what should appear? AFRANKANGLE – back and stirring up the pot again with a wide-range of topics – CONGRATS on your eight years of mind-stimulating blogging – you should be proud!

    ISSUE ONE – Know that you’ve caught my attention that partisans like me are making a big mistake with the true independents by trying to convince them why NOT to vote for Donald Trump as opposed to reasons why TO VOTE for Hillary Clinton. Too much is at stake with a dangerous demagogue like Donald Trump near the nuclear button for me not to think this through and take your advice as I canvas neighborhoods leading up to the Nov. election.

    ISSUE TWO – I’m anxious to find out what rule was broken in your golf league so as not to fall victim to the same infraction during my upcoming 3-day golf outing to northern Ohio with my retired music education golf buds.

    The read “A History Of Solar Cells: How Technology Has Evolved” was a big winner with my wife, who has long championed solar energy.

    Speaking of my wife, the Onion infographic “Pros And Cons Of The ‘Tiny House’ Movement” was the all-time MOTHERLOAD of splats for her and me. We together (she’s addicted to Tiny House cable TV shows) LOL’d at every one of them!!

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    • Tim,
      Glad to see that your wife appreciated The Onion’s take on Tiny Houses.

      Regarding your canvasing, tough work in this election because of the high negatives on each candidate. Of course the party leaders will not agree, but a compare and contrast approach may yield better results.

      In terms of the golf snafu, it should have not effect on your 3-day outing.

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  9. It was good to find your post this morning, and I salute you for lasting eight years in this strange place called Blogsville. Perusing the article about how we see color brought back a fun memory for me from Physics class in High School. My lab partner and I won second prize at the state Science Fair for our demonstration of some of these aspects of color. Of course it didn’t speak of the phenomenon of those folks like me who experience synesthesia, where letters of the alphabet, numerals, and even musical notes have colors! Glad to see you back, Frank.

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    • Calvin,
      I’m an unquestionable contrarian – thus I find myself in situation where I disagree with the majority – thus usually am on a side that is a very small minority. Oh well … I’m used to it.

      When I did a career change, I knew I had arrived when I disagreed with the majority in the room. 🙂

      Nice song …. and I know that I can also count on you with good music! … Thanks for the kind words!

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  13. Howdy Frank. Eight years is quite a long stretch of time to blog. Your efforts, and the blogging world, have changed over the years. That’s normal. Change can be a good thing.

    Too bad about the golf ending. It should end on a positive note for all, if possible. I was out a few days ago and set a personal record for most 3 putts. It was more than half my total score. All other parts of the game went well. It is a strange game.

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    • Jim,
      Oh yes … blogging is a different world today than back in the day. Guess I need to find the new normal.:)

      On the last week of golf, I let it get away from me, but one guy finished strong (and as we know, there is no defense in golf). But the way I lost the last playoff spot does raise questions – although I think it will lead to a rule change next year.

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  14. Congratulations on your eighth anniversary, Frank. It would take me at least 80 years to crank out 1,853 Lame Adventures; that’s so not going to happen. Sorry to hear your golf league tanked. Have you been on summer hiatus from your other signature pursuits: handbell playing and ballroom dancing? You are excellent at commenting and interacting. Commenting and interacting has so much to do with my dropping out almost all year. I don’t have the time to visit sites as I did in the past. The blogosphere is not the priority it used to be with me.

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    • Lame,
      Many thanks for the kind words and long-time support. This summer has not only involved some part-time work, this is also the first summer of my wife’s retirement – which is part of the adjustment. Ballroom is still much of our life …. and handbell season has started. Meanwhile, it’s been a good run, but I’m not done yet!

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  17. Eight years! Kudos, Frank! Not long ago I hit 5. The sphere changes all the time. So many folks have stopped blogging and reading. C’est la vie, I guess.

    As you suspect, I will disagree with you about divided government until I die..in the old days (even during reagan’s tenure), I would agree that it us a good way to add another check on power. But with today’s GOP, and their petulant insistence on party before country, nope. They don’t deserve to hold public office. They are not in politics to govern, but to obstruct.

    As for Jill Stein, she just wrote a pawn to Harambe on the three month anniversary. And his VP? Right….

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    • Elyse,
      Yep …. we have outlasted many … Cheers to longevity.

      Of course we will disagree about divided government. I have no doubt that the Dems would overplay their hand because that is the client – so I favor divided gov’t to keep them in check as well.

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    • Marina,
      Thank you … and the same for you. It’s been an abnormally hot and humid summer for us … and I hate that weather! Meanwhile, the beginning of this post matches your post on 8.

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        • Heat and humidity is still here, but we are hoping this is the last blast so we can transition into fall. A front is supposed to move through late tomorrow, so Sunday is supposed to be fabulous. Interestingly, this summer has been Cincinnati’s hottest in over 100 years.

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  19. Welcome back, Frank, and congratulations on your milestone. Your OITS blog posts have been consistently been favorites of mine, especially the interesting reads. This edition’s reads all fit that label for me. As for politics, I’m with Elyse. Even if the Dems controlled both houses of Congress, I could not bring myself to vote for a narcissistic, impetuous loose cannon like Trump just to balance power.

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    • Jim,
      Thanks for not only the kind words, but for being a fans of the Interesting Reads within OITS. I’m always curious to see which articles people enjoyed the most.

      Regarding the election, even the odds are good for the Dems for the White House & the Senate, I see them controlling the House is an extreme long-shot. So in my divided government scenario, I still see the GOP having some control.

      Regarding Trump, there is no way he will receive my vote. Absolutely no chance. Given the nominees of the two major parties since 1968, I can’t think of any candidate that I wouldn’t cast a vote for over The Bloviator …. and that includes John McCain, even with Nincompoop as the VP … then again, that may be stretching it.

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  20. Hi Frank. Congrats on consistently solid posts. (No easy feat)
    This year happily forgotten for golf and stupid politics. (Balance by opposing forces in government is sadly necessary now)
    Student admits only case of aim insufferable.(Well, that’s better than nothing I guess)
    Have a great week

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  21. Normally I’m all revved up the few months heading up to a presidential election. Always so exciting. This year I just shake my head, roll my eyes, and turn the TV off. So much sleaze, so little substance, and although that’s often the case to a degree, it’s especially bad this time around.

    Hope you’re well, Frank!

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    • Carrie!!!!!

      You occasionally pop into my head, so your presence on this post brought a big smile to me!

      This election has been a head-scratcher from the start. I’m normally a news junkie, but in recent months I’ve watched less and less. Too many personal attacks and too little substance. In the end, The Bloviator has ZERO chance of getting my vote.

      How are the book promos going?

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      • Always a pleasure to stop by! I’m shopping my third book around now. Trying to get the fourth started, but we’ve just got a buyer for the house so it’s busy, busy, busy. If all goes well we move into our new townhome at the end of September. Now we’re desperately trying to downsize. Soooo much stuff we’ve accumulated over the years, especially with our kids. It will be a relief when it’s all done!

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        • Down sizing the stuff is quite the task. Fortunately, we had a long time for it. Congrats on the sale and for having a place ready to go … which sounds like one move without a temporary address!

          Cheers to the book going well … but bigger things currently on the plate! Attack!!!!!

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  22. Hey Frank. So glad you’ve resurfaced. I was beginning to think you’d run off on a cruise around the world and left us all in blog Hell. 🙂 (Actually, I thought you’d gotten so disgusted with the election that you were sitting it out until after November 8th. If you initially dubbed Sarah Palin as the Nincompoop, I can’t imagine what name you’ll finally crown Trump with.)

    Congrats on 8 years! So sorry for the golfing mess. (I will never understand that sport and I live in the midst of three golf courses.) Well, I guess it is onto the dance floor! All the best!

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    • Hey E-Tom,
      Many thanks on the congrats. Yes, I’ve been disgusted with Election 2016 for some time. Good news is that I started calling Donald Trump by a fitting name very early in his campaign … The Bloviator … and since then, I’ve seen several references to forms of that word by national writers.

      Meanwhile, no cruises for me … well, until 2017. … but we are still dancing!

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  24. Sorry to hear about the unfortunate ending to your golfing season, but it sounds like there were extenuating circumstances. Thank you for not referring to it as “Golfgate”.

    President Obama WAS wrong . . . for not putting Lochte on the watchlist. But I guess all is forgiven now that a security company signed up with Ryan . . in yet the latest example of “You Just Can’t Make This S#&t Up.”

    Nicely played, Frank.

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  27. It’s very nice to find you’ve posted again, Frank. You have been missed. I don’t know enough about golf to understand even if you’d gone into detail, but it must be very frustrating to be eliminated due to a questionable technicality. I hope you get much more golf in before seasons change and perhaps the weather makes it impossible. Good reads–I stopped to read the Short History of Solar Cells, a subject that interests me. Have a good week, my friend. And congratulations on your blogging anniversary!

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    • Debra,
      Thanks of the congrats. The golf snafu is not necessarily a golf-specific technicality, so I’m confident you would understand! 🙂 …. Meanwhile, hopefully I can find enough blogging mojo to get into a routine!

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  28. I’m totally fatigued from & by the American election. It’s an overkill of overkill.
    However, I luv the Shania Twain song, and not just because she’s Canadian. TY, Frank!

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      • Not sure what’s left? News, fun, music, life adventures you have… So many topics to keep chatting about 🙂 My weekend was good, thanks, including a community picnic and dancing. How about you, Frank?

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        • Not so much that I think my tank is near empty, but I’m lacking the get-up-and-go to visit others – which I think is very important. Oh well … time will tell.

          Weekend was good … dancing, ushering a play, work, but storms cancelled a party.

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  31. Congratulations on 8 years! I didn’t realize you’d been posting. I’ll need to check my subscription and see what’s up. I enjoyed the Colours in nature article (and that mantis shrimp at the end is pretty wild!). Hope your summer has been a good one, Frank. 🙂

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    • Robin,
      Many thanks for the congrats … and cheers to you for your longevity that is even longer! The Colours article is perfect for you, so I’m glad you saw it! Summer has gone well … outside of too damn hot and humidity … but fall is on the way, which means Walktober!

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