A voice crying in the Wilderness.

Today 's Tids Issue 3,772

For looking over shoulders:

Yesterday would have been a perfect skiing day around here. But a morning mechanical household problem interrupted my morning progress. This looks now like a winter where you have to grab snow fun opportunities when they first appear, cause who knows what weather lurks just around the corner – 2 degrees to 50 in 48 hours!

Now that I have opened your morning mess with an innocuous Tidlet about weather, it probably feels like a bad cocktail party without the booze.

I love watching congressional confirmation hearings mainly to analyze questions and answers, questioners and answerers. It is always a great chess game.

It was an interesting coincidence last night that the Obama Farewell speech replaced the CBS TV show “Bull” -- If you get my drift.

Parity is finally showing up in college basketball because good players are no longer willing to sit on the benches of super programs.

Happy 10^th Birthday IPhone!

The Question:

Hasbro is getting ready to hold a vote to change another of the original Monopoly tokens. Name the original tokens used in the Monopoly Game.

The Headlines:

--News Organizations Licking Chops As First Trump Press Conference Nears; Stocks Flat Awaiting TrumpSpeak Scheduled For About 11:00 AM.

--China Sends Aircraft Carrier Into Taiwan Strait.

--Obama Brings Cheering Crowd Of Devotees To Its Feet As He Signs Off After 8 Years; Across The Country Many Others Cheer For A Different Reason.

--5 UAE Diplomats Among 57 Killed In Afghan Bombing; Taliban Stepping Up Aggression.

--SoS Nominee Tillerson Next In Hot Seat; Libs Say Hearings Much Too Soft On Sessions – Demand Blood.

--Authorities Not Yet Ready To Authenticate Reports Of Trump Shenanigans In Russia As Reported By CNN And NYT’s; Some Say Information Was Created For “Never Trumper’s” and DNC Opposition Research For Hill.

--World Bank Says Trump Tax Cuts Could Jump-Start World Economy.

--Roof Gets Death; Duh.

--Mexico Says Not A Chace At All It Will Pay For A Wall.

A good way to warm leftover steak and other meats is to fill a pot with hot tap water. Place steak in plastic bag, force out air and seal tightly. Place in water for about 3-4 mins, making sure meat is always submerged.

What is the difference between a cat and a comma? One has claws at the end of its paws, and the other is a pause at the end of a clause. Thanks to TB.

The Coen Brother’s Fargo was a great movie and perhaps and even better TV series. Now the talented duo is bringing an entirely new series to the Tube. It’s called “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” set in the old west. I’ll check it out. I mean, you have to check out the Coen Brothers.

If you look around at entertainment availabilities, streaming TV is changing everything. It won’t be long before it replaces big theater movies in quality. The rapidly advancing technologies make it easier and easier to find great stuff in places like Netflix, where one of the bonuses is a treasure trove of excellent foreign films and series. One I enjoyed and am waiting for the second season is “Occupied”. Another I have just started and am enjoying is a Norwegian effort called Nobel. (Nothing to do with Dynamite Man). It’s good to have friends who find this stuff for you.

I have often mused here about trendiness; that trends just don’t happen because a citizen discovers something new in a store and then tells a person who tells another person and so forth. Trend making is the art of product placement and public relations, all controlled and planned for the good of the manufacturer/marketer. Consider several of the old standards giving way to new variations/innovations. Liquid soap is considered hot and bar soap not. The real reason is that liquid soaps disappear faster in showers meaning that consumers have to buy more often. They don’t make you cleaner. Coffee cans full of ground coffee are languishing on shelves while people rush to buy more expensive whole bean coffees or settle in for convenience of single serve machines (One single serve lover interviewed for a story said, “It is just too hard to wash a coffee pot!”) But, the real difference is trendy bagged coffees and single serve cups get way more money. You have to believe that the trend away from margarine and to butter is the the result of Dairy Association efforts. (Actually, I’m all for butter all the time) Other declining standards are alkaline batteries, powder detergents, processed cheese and frozen juice concentrates. Some make sense, and others make cents for sellers.

BTW, single serve coffees may be more convenient and practical in some instances, but I don’t like the idea of the manufacturer determining the strength of my coffee.

Paul Ryan and Rand Paul seem to be leading the way on the go slow with ACA repeal movement. I’m pretty confident that it will be simultaneous repeal and replace, which is the logical thing to do. In fact it is the American way, something lost during the Obama years.

Talk about Trends, Department:

One of the hottest retail chains of yore, The Limited, is closing all of its brick and mortar stores and going completely on line! What are we going to do with all of the empty malls – turn them into marijuana emporiums?

I remember when the futurists of the 1980’s were predicting a service economy taking over the old factory based economy that built America’s wealth. Well we’re getting wealth alright, and it is going to all the service people necessary to fix all of the new manufactured products that now break, crash and deteriorate much too easily and frequently.

I used to blame my inattentive mind for typos. Now I think it is fat fingers. It must be all of that orange stuff.

The Answer:

The original metal tokens were introduced in 1937 (after the original prints with wood). They were: Iron, Purse, Lantern, Car, Thimble, Shoe, Top Hat and Rocking Horse. Later in 1937 the Battleship and Cannon were added. In 1942, the Purse, Lantern and Rocking Horse were replaced by the Dog, Wheelbarrow and Horse with Rider. (Note: During WWII tokens were switched back to wood.) There have been many changes lately, including the demise of the original Iron, though some of the originals remain. Hasbro seems to like the token voting promotions.

Whether you love him or hate him, you just got to be interested in what Trumperino’s first press conference will bring!

Obama’s speech last night should be a signal that we haven’t heard the last of him at all. He loves giving rousing speeches and I think he will be an ex-Prez who will not remain silent. Expect to hear from him often, much too often. And the disharmony continues>

See you tomorrow. Today is a great day for golf! Weird.