Who is your favorite super hero, Superman or Batman? A co-worker postulates that if you choose Superman, you are a liberal Democrat and if you choose Batman, you are a conservative Republican. And, here is why.

Superman is a lowly photographer employed by a liberal news paper. Batman, is a wealthy businessman who is self employed.

Superman uses his power to help the helpless such as people trapped in burning buildings. Batman uses his gadgets to catch criminals who are a menace to society as a whole.

I guess if you chose Spider man, you probably voted for Ross Perot.

Back in 1904 a young entrepreneur, named King Gillette, was looking to invent a product that he could produce and sell to the public. An old friend advised him to invent something that was cheap and disposable. That is when he hit on the idea of the safety razor.

At the time, everyone told him that it was impossible to create a sharp, thin, steel blade. But a MIT graduate proved them wrong. And thus, the safety razor was invented.

He sold his product to the US Army during WWI and soon, everyone was abandoning their straight razors for his safety razor. And of course, he didn’t make his money on the razors themselves, he made his money on the blades.

So, when I received my free Gillette Fusion razor in the mail, it was no surprise that a package of blades cost me $20.

The man was a genius!

One of the restaurants, here in Lowell, offers outside dining. The restaurant is located on the river so it is a natural to have outside accommodations. You can eat while looking at the scenic river setting and feeling the cool breeze off the water. And, if the sun is too hot, you can put up an umbrella.

Not to be out done, one of the local bars is offering outside seating. The location is a section of blacktop surrounded by buildings and privacy fences.

But, unlike most bier gardens, there is no overhead canopy to shield you from the heat. And as far as I can tell, there is no shade what so ever. And to add to the atmosphere, there are a couple of dumpsters up next to the building.

So, after a hard day at work, you can sit out in the heat, staring at the side of a building while enjoying the ambiance of rotting garbage. Life is good.

Today, when I was out for my morning walk around Lansing, I noticed the dates on the sidewalks. The section that I was walking on was poured in 1925. It looked better than the section that was poured in 1975.

This made me wonder why? Was the concrete better in 1925? Was the 1925 sidewalk used less than the 1975?

And why do they sidewalk companies put their name on the sidewalk? I doubt that the 1925 sidewalk company is still in business.

And why the date? It is not as if someone is going to say, “That side walk is 83 years old. Guess I’d better replace it.” Or, “That sidewalk is pretty rough but it is only 30 years old so I guess it doesn’t need to be replaced.” And, it is not like the historical society is going the specifically visit the site.

The best that I can come up with is that it is just a sophisticated way to write your name in the cement.

Posted on a sign outside of the Michigan Hall of Justice is “No Freestyle skateboards, bicycles or roller skates.” The Hall of Justice is where the Michigan Supreme Court resides and not super heroes as the name might imply, though I am sure some of the occupants view themselves that way.

Apparently, you can roller skate, bicycle and skate board there, you just can free style. This begs the question of what is “free style”? And, is there a legal definition of “free style”?

To me, free style is any thing that differs from the required. So, I guess if you follow the routines required in competitive sports, you are OK.

I think the Hall of Justice folks have too much time on their hands.

I was CCd today. While it is not uncommon for me to be CCd on a correspondence, today I was CC. on a meeting.

Normally when I am CCd on a correspondence, I read the correspondence but that is all. It is for information only. However, when I am CCd on a meeting, our scheduling program requires that we “accept” or “decline”.

Now, this is a bit of a problem. Since I wasn’t actually invited to the meeting I can’t accept it nor can I decline it. And, “none of the above” is not an option. And if you try to delete the notice, the program gets all excited as if you have made some social blunder. So, the best that you can do is to ignore the meeting notice.

What the program really needs is a button that says “you are an idiot”. Thank you!

Yesterday was Cinco De Mayo so we had a special luncheon in the office.  Now, granted, we don’t have that many Spanish people in the office but it was a reason to have a party.

I made a dish with chicken breasts and chilies in a sour cream sauce.  I have made it in the past so it was requested for the luncheon.   Everyone raved about it.

I was flattered at the complements until one woman thanked me for making such a wonderful dish.  You see, she was hit by a car 2 years ago and can’t taste or smell anything.  So, she couldn’t possible have enjoyed my dish.

I guess she didn’t want to feel out of the norm so she too commented on my food.

We have an office coffee pot that gets used by just about everyone in the area. Donate a quarter and you can have a cup of Jo.

In the past, the state provided Styrofoam cups for the coffee, but with the budget crunch these are no longer available. So, to compensate for the lack of Styrofoam cups, some of our vendors have provided us with ceramic cups bearing their logos. Plus, individual staff members have donate old cups from their home. The up shot of this is that we now have a variety of coffee cups sitting by the coffee pot.

In theory, if you want a cup of coffee, you just grab one of the cups and help your self. However, since no one has been designated as the cleaner of the cups, you are best off taking your selected cup down to the bathroom and washing it yourself.

This system seems to work OK except when someone accidentally sets their favorite personal coffee cup down by the coffee pot while they are waiting for the pot to brew. They might return to the pot to fill their cup only to discover that it is gone.

And if they are lucky, they will find their cup right away. But, in all likelihood, they spend the rest of the day trying to find their coffee cup. Sometimes, cups have disappeared for over a week.

So, if you are really attached to a particular coffee cup, it is best to take a digital picture of it so that you can print in on a ‘missing cup’ poster should it become lost.

Kathy spends her free time, from early spring to late fall, trapping moles or at least attempting to trap moles. And she is very determined.

Every evening, she comes home from work and checks her traps. Some times they are sprung but empty and some times they are sprung with a mole in them. But, most of the time they just sit there.

One day, she looked out into our front yard and saw the ground moving. Knowing that the movement was caused by a mole, she ran into the garage, grabbed a hammer and charged back to the front yard. She then threw her self on the ground and proceeded to beat the ground with the hammer.

When she was sure that she had killed the mole, she stood back up. That is when she noticed the two Jehovah’s Witnesses backing slowly away from the house.

It was several years before we got another Watch Tower publication.

Once again, warm weather is upon us and once again, those ugly shoes emerge.  I fail to see why anyone would think that Crocs are attractive.  But then again, I don’t like Capri pants either.  I guess it is just me.

I think that Crocs are the ugliest things on the face of the earth.  About the best that I can say for them is that they would be great for wading into the murky water of a river if I were canoing but I certainly wouldn’t wear them out in public.

I guess they are supposed to be cool.  And, they do make a fashion statement namely, bad taste.  But, they stand as a testimonial as to what people will wear in the name of fashion.

I suppose, if I want to be cool, I’ll have to get some  pajama bottoms and some Crocs and head out to Meijer’s  (regional grocery chain) for a public displaying.