There are four of us in our car pool. And since we alternate days, all four of us will drive at least one day during the week. But, four drivers also means four cars and multiple drop off and pickup points. So, it was not surprising when Brenda, the driver, told me that she would pick me up on the corner at 4:30.

At 4:30, I headed out the door for the corner. As I was walking down the street, I was pleased to see Brenda’s dark blue 2 door Honda waiting at the corner. I approached the passenger door and proceeded to open it. That is when I realized that there was someone sitting in the passenger seat and that this person was not a part of the car pool.

Realizing that this was not Brenda’s dark blue Honda, I apologized to the very startled man occupying the passenger seat. I told him that my car pooler has a car just like this and that she was going to pick me up on the corner.

Graciously, I closed the door and walked back to the sidewalk. I am glad that the man was there. Otherwise, I may have climbed into the passenger seat and startled the female driver.

I work with a guy who was born and raised in Taiwan. To his detriment, he speaks perfect English.

His English is so good that most people think that he was born in the US. Unfortunately, he has a very limited vocabulary. So, he doesn’t understand a lot of conversations. If people had realized that his English was limited, they might have talked differently to him.

But, because he speaks perfect English, they assume he is fluent in the language.  As is, he picks up on a few key words and then asks what they mean. From there, he guesses as to what the conversation is about.  I just hope that he doesn’t miss something critical.

At a recent staff meeting, my boss noted that things were getting tense in the office due to our excessive work load. So, she suggested that we all go bowling some afternoon.

It was her thought that the diversion and exercise would be good for all of us. However, I guess the tension level was higher than she thought as one of the women suggested that we go the shooting range instead.

The Fine Arts Center auditorium is the largest auditorium at Calvin College. And until the formal chapel was built, it served as the primary location for the chapel and church services.

What makes the auditorium quite interesting are the ceiling lights. There are literally hundreds of spotlights hanging from the ceiling at different heights in a random order. And all of the ceiling lights are on a dimmer switch so that when they are dimmed, it looks like a starry sky.

Well, one morning when it was time for chapel, the lights would not turn on. So the campus electrician was summoned.

The electrician checked the main breaker and it was fine. He checked the dimmer system and it was fine. He checked the distribution panel and it was fine. Perplexed, he climbed out on to the catwalk and unscrewed a bulb and the socket was fine. And, when he screwed the bulb back in, the light came on.

It seems that some pranksters had gotten into the auditorium and unscrewed every light in the ceiling. It took the staff several hours to screw the lights back in.

A number of years ago, the state upgraded a lot of the colleges to university status. With the stroke of the pen, my old college, Ferris State College, became Ferris State University. Truly amazing!

Unfortunately, that university status did not apply to community colleges. They still remained “colleges”. And that college status was retained by Lansing Community College or LCC as we call it.

However, that college status is being challenged by LCC. Even though they did not obtain that “university” status back when, they have decided to move forward with that status any way. And to solidify that “university” image, they have named their newest building “The University Center”.

“The University Center”, nothing illegal about the name. Even though the state does not recognize LCC as a university, they are slowing portraying that image.

Would a rose by any other name smell as sweet?

I have mixed feeling about global warming. First of all, does it really exist and secondly is it really such a bad thing?

Does it really exist? I hear that the North Pole is thawing yet I hear that the South Pole has a record deep ice cap. And I hear that the Everglades are drying up. If the North Pole is thawing, it must be that the water is all going to the South Pole because it sure isn’t going into the Everglades.

Furthermore, there seems to be disagreement in the scientific community as to the existence of global warming as well as the cause of it. Some scientists claim that it is caused by fossil fuel while other claim it is caused by meteorite damage high in the atmosphere.

But more to the point, the founder of the Weather Channel claims that global warming is a hoax. And since he is a renowned meteorologist, his views are worth consideration.

When I was growing up, it was not uncommon to have a week of 100+ degree temperatures in the summer. And it seemed like this occurred every summer. Yet, I can’t remember the last time the temperature hit 100 degrees. And granted, it has been warm lately but not 100 degrees.

And, I can remember how cold it got last winter with the temperatures in the -20s. Where is that global warming when you need it?

But, if global warming exists, is it a bad thing? The scientist who first wrote about global warming thought that it was a good thing. He envisioned the whole world becoming a tropical paradise.

Furthermore, he believed that the earth had experienced some sort of global cooling a thousand years ago. He cites the fact that the Vikings used to graze cattle on Greenland around 1000 AD. We certainly can’t do that today.

Well, if nothing else, global warming is providing the scientific community with funds for research even if it is bogus.

The other day when I was waiting to checkout at Best Buys, some guy in line behind me started asking about vodka. It seems that his son just turned 21 so he wanted to buy him a nice bottle of vodka.

He stated that he quit drinking many years ago so he was not familiar with the brands of vodka. I told him that Absolute and Grey Goose were quite popular.

I had to ask myself “Why vodka and not whiskey?” Why did he want his son to drink when he himself had quit? All and all, I found the whole conversation to be rather strange.

“We Match All Quotes!” That is what the sign said in front of the tire store.

I understand what they are saying, but I wonder if they understand what they are saying? If the best that they are going to do is match the quote that I already have, I may as well buy my tires from the place that just gave me the quote. Why would I bother to go to the other tire store if I am not going to get a better deal?

If you really want to get my business you would “Beat” the quote that I already have. Does this make sense?

Where did we get the name “toilet” from? Kind of sounds French doesn’t it?

“Toil”. My dictionary says that toil is a struggle or labor. The “et” is a diminutive, just like cigarette is a diminutive of cigar. So, I guess that a toilet is a place of small labors or struggles.

My wife can testify to the validity that a toilet is a place of struggle.

It snowed last night.  We got 11 inches.  Very pretty.  I am working from home today.