I bought an over the counter anti-histamine in a effort to fight my allergy symptoms. It claimed to be a non-drowsy formula if used “as directed”.

Great, I thought. The last thing that I need is a medication that makes me sleepy. After all, the prescription meds that I already take make me sleepy.

Now, when I see something that says “non-drowsy formula” I assume that there is also a formula that does make you drowsy. So, if I take this medication “as directed”, it won’t make me drowsy.

But wait, one of the possible side effects of this medication is insomnia??!!

So, let me see if I understand this right. The medication won’t make me sleepy if taken “as directed” but it might keep me awake?

Well, that stands to reason. If it keeps me awake, it certainly won’t make me sleepy. At least they are truthful in their labeling.

I wonder if they also make a non-drowsy formula of No-Doze? You know, the kind that if taken “as directed” won’t make you sleepy.

With the discovery that Japan’s oldest man has been dead for 30 years, authorities decided to check on Japan’s oldest woman.  What they discovered was that no one has seen the 113 year old woman for more than 30 years. So, it would appear that the oldest woman disappeared about the same time that the oldest man died.

While Japan may relish their old people, they certainly do a poor job of keeping track of them.

Tokyo’s oldest living man was found dead on his 111 birthday.  Living to be 111 is quite remarkable.  Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.  It seems that he had died in his bed some 30 years earlier but his family decided to ignore that fact.

I guess that explains why he hasn’t been eating much lately.

I was recently on a conference call with a vendor who was named Duc Terd. Actually, Terd was his first name and Duc was his last name. But in keeping with Asian naming conventions, his last name came first. So, officially, it was Duc Terd.

In trying to be polite, I called him Mr. Duc. But he insisted that I call him Terd. He said that every one called him Terd. I felt a little strange calling him Terd, but what ever.

I wondered if he understood the meaning of his name in English, but, I was sure that someone had explained it to him.

Some restaurants offer you packets of ketchup while others offer you some paper cups and a ketchup pump. But, I was just at a Micky Ds. that had ketchup on tap.

The ketchup dispenser was pressurized.  All you had to do was put the paper cup under the nossle and pull the handle and you had ketchup.

I liked the ease of use but I suspect that it might be a maintenance nightmare.  Regardless, dispensing ketchup was quick and easy.

The “Going Out of Business” sign wasn’t even down before the new video store moved into the old video store’s  building. It is a regional chain called “Family Video”.

Family Video has been around for quite a few years. The closest one was in Grand Rapids. We used to rent from them but it was a pain driving to Grand Rapids to rent movies. But, now that they have opened a store here in Lowell, we will be resuming our business with them.

Good selection, good prices, what more can we ask for? Sorry Red Box.

Wendy’s has 4 new salad offerings this summer. And since they all sounded fantastic, I thought that I would try them.

But, before I made any purchases, I checked them out on line just to see what they might be hiding. Sure enough, the sodium is VERY high in all of them; 1,500 mg or higher! And since the recommended daily limit is 2,000, you have just about hit your limit in just one meal. In short, if I ate one of those salads for lunch, I would be gulping water all afternoon.

But why is the sodium so high I wondered? Is the chicken that salty? Then, it dawned on me. MSG! They are probably using MSG to keep the lettuce fresh.

It just goes to show that the healthy choice might not be that healthy.

Lately, I have been buy ties from the Donald Trump collection. They are very nice looking ties and since I buy them from the Burlington Coat Factory, I only pay about $12 for them.

I was wearing one the other day for work when my car pooler commented that he really liked the looks of my tie. When I told him that I bought it at the Burlington Coat Factory for $12, his lip kind of curled. Then he asked if they were sold any place else like Joseph A. Banks. I told him that I am sure that they were but that I didn’t know where.

Now, when I shop for clothes, I first look for something that meets my taste. Then, I check the price to see if it is in my price range, then I check the fit. If all three of these conditions are met, I buy it.

I don’t particularly care whose name is on the garment. With the exception of shirts with logos, most people aren’t going to recognize the designer anyway.

As with my ties, I didn’t buy them because they said Donald Trump. I bought them because: 1. I liked the looks. 2. They were in my price range. 3. They fit.

For my poor carpooler, not only does it need to be the right label but also the right store. I suppose I could alway buy him the ties and put them into a Joseph A. Banks bag so that the neighbors wouldn’t suspect. But, I guess it wouldn’t be the same unless he could boast about how much he paid for them.

BTW, I just bought a 100% wool tweed sport coat for $40. It is an off brand but I liked the looks of it, it fit and $40 is definitely in my price range.

I saw an ad for a smoke house business. The ad showed several penguins.

Now, I am not sure what the relationship is between the penguins and a smoke house. I have seen other smoke house ads which feature pigs, and cow and fish and chickens and turkeys and I understand their relation to a smoke house. But never penguins.

I suppose I need to be more open minded. After all, smoked penguin could be quite tasty.

One of my co-workers bought her husband a new watch. It seems that he lost the watch that he had. In fact, he has lost the last two watches that she has purchased for him.

Loosing two watches just seems very strange to me. After all, they were expensive watches with good solid watch band clasps.

And, he has a desk job. How strenuous can that be? It is not like he is working on a construction site. Plus, he is not athletic so he is not loosing them while working out.

All and all, I think that it is very strange. Maybe he just didn’t like the watches and ended up throwing them away.