Recent Comments

1. 4 minutes ago on Rose is Rose

   “… see if we can put my sister’s ashes in with one of my grandparents or aunt …”

   Fair warning – Please check thoroughly for all applicable city, county, and state ordinances on this.

   If “the family plot” is an extensible one near (and no one else buried) to the end of the row you may be able to do that by purchasing an additional plot. Most places have very specific ordinances that legally require that an interment only can take place at the specified depth and may NOT overlap another interment either for depth or for plot boundaries.

   That sort of ordinance prohibits another casket or urn being placed between (wedged), or interred above or below (stacked). Most of those ordinances have been in place for decades and thus are not subject to appeal. Usually there is an allowance for two caskets to be side-by-side for married spouses, but not for any other members of the family.

   Also, digging in a grave plot without legal authorization is in itself a legal offense. Burying a new interment without a required permit also is a separately cite-able offense, just as are multiple interments in one plot.

   The only exception to this that I am aware of is if a specific casket plot has been legally obtained for the express purpose of interment of cremation urns. Even then, there usually are rules against stacking, as well as spacing requirements.

   In some areas, you can’t even bury the cremation canister of a pet, or scatter a pet’s ashes in or on the former owner’s grave.

   Another point: If improper interment occurs, some places have ordinances requiring the city/county/state to disinter ALL interments in ‘the plot’ and verify that all of them were done legally. Generally, those that can not be verified MUST be removed permanently and (to discourage people from doing their own interments) the non-valid remains must be consigned to an unmarked common (potters’) grave.

   The owner(s)/operator(s) of a gravesite should be able to provide this information.

   (Continued →)

2. about 1 hour ago on Rose is Rose

   “Then ATTACK!”

   Tomorrow … if I feel like it … and can’t find something better to do.

3. about 1 hour ago on Rose is Rose

   Uh … guys. GUYS. GUYS!

   Get your minds out of the gutter. Gina only said that she made snow angels that were nekkid. She did NOT say that she was nekkid while making them.

   Geez.

4. about 1 hour ago on Non Sequitur

   Annndd this is how propagandists ‘normalize’ their propaganda. They compare it to something ‘worse’, then saying their propaganda is not so bad. The next cycle around, the base statement is a little more ‘out there’, a little more of a stretch to be believed. But those who swallowed the earlier ‘normalized’ concept of [whatever it was] being OK find it increasingly hard to deny ‘their own" (actually, the propagandist’s) incremental logic.

   Between this kind of subtle encouragement to deny real facts and logic, and the ad nauseam fire-hose of lies, and the ‘dog whistles’, and the appeals to prejudice, and the Big Lies, and the dehumanizing, it becomes really very hard to discover the facts, let alone the truth.

   Any time you see a statement about “This [dehumanizing or lying thing] is SOOO much better than it _used _ to be,” beware. The speaker just pulled the pin out of a grenade … and it’s cooking.

5. about 2 hours ago on Non Sequitur

   And if you believe the Orangerangitang, you have been sucking down his koolaid for too long.

6. about 2 hours ago on Non Sequitur

   “… any viewpoint expressed that might challenge one’s own, is heretical and, not only wrong, but evil.”

   If you are going to quote it, please do so completely:

   “Any viewpoint expressed that might challenge my own, is heretical and, not only wrong, but deliberately and maliciously evil, and is both un-American and unpatriotic as well as Liberal, Leftist, Communist, Radical, and insane. There is absolutely and positively NO chance of any correct-thinking Conservative being so wrong.”

7. about 2 hours ago on Non Sequitur

   “… swapped him out with a cheerleader.”

   Swap out the entire team. The result would be FAR more interesting, and draw a much greater audience.

   And no, that is NOT sexist. I have great respect for the very real athletic prowess of cheerleaders. YOU try being the top of a 3 or 4-layer tower, or for that matter one of the base supporters. it ain’t as simple or easy as their practiced athleticism makes it appear, and an uncontrolled fall from 20 to 25 feet up is still life threatening.

8. about 2 hours ago on Non Sequitur

   That was Fairly rude of ‘them’.

9. about 3 hours ago on Non Sequitur

   “… head for the nearest exit and go home.”

   Good advice. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work most of the time.

   Many sports venues have very constricted, limited entry/egress ports. As a former EMT, I am aware of the greatest fear of the medical community: a jam-packed sports or concert event where pandemonium breaks out and everyone is trying to get out. For instance, a fire, fighting that spreads to fans, a shooter, or a building failure would be quite catastrophic.

   Take, for example, the US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis MN. That seats more than 72,700 people. There are not enough hospital beds in the state of MN (10,184) to hold all the people who could get crushed trying to get out of that venue during a catastrophy. In fact, the odds are about 7 to 1 you could not get into a hospital in MN, and the closest state for transfers is Wisconsin with only another 11,224 beds.

   Best advice if you must watch some popular public event, do so on TV, well away from the performance venue. If it’s not broadcast, catch up with the highlights on the Web.

10. about 3 hours ago on Non Sequitur

    “In the USA soccer is for kids who can’t hit a baseball, can’t make a jump shot or throw a spiral pass.”

    Beg pardon?

    I can hit a baseball, make a jump shot (or for that matter, a hook shot), and throw a spiral pass. I also can run competitively, catch that spiral pass, catch a thrown or hit baseball and and dribble a basketball in circles or through your legs. In addition, I can skate and use a hockey stick on a puck. And I’m 3 days away from 79.

    I prefer soccer. Played right, it’s an elegant game, because you are not allowed to make physical contact with opponents. In addition, only the goalie can use his or her hands on the ball. Soccer requires requires considerable dexterity, flexibility, and skill on the part of the player who has possession of the ball at any given moment. Since dexterity with the feet is the least-developed skill for most people, soccer encourages greater development of the whole body’s capabilities, including shoulders, knees, heads/necks, and lungs/endurance.

    Finally, soccer is a ‘head’ game. It requires strategy, cool thinking, concentration, and learned coordination, as well as teamwork. American football only requires brute force. American baseball, basketball, and hockey are quickly moving in that same direction as well.