Saturday, September 6, 2008

On the lowcarb front:

My stats for today:
Type: Treadmill
Route: manual settings
Time: 20
Average heart rate: 118
Maximum heart rate: 138
Calories burned: 128
Down 2.4 from last Saturday
I had planned to walk outside today, but ended up on the treadmill instead. I expect next week to be a much better, less hectic week. My goal focus wavered a bit over the last couple of days, but I am good to go today.

We have a family get together this evening. Always a lot of food (this family has some fantastic cooks), so that will be a challenge, but we have a lot of out-of town family who will be there so it shouldn't be too hard to focus on people instead of whatever is on the buffet. Harold's family is very big (he is one of 12 kids) so when we get together it is always major party mode. We have fun. The older I get, the more I appreciate the blessings I've been given.

Word of the day:
Gospel
Lk 6:1-5

While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath,
his disciples were picking the heads of grain,
rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Some Pharisees said,
“Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”

Thoughts from the cornfield:
One can only wonder what the Pharisees would have done if they had known to whom they were speaking. For learned and educated people, these guys sure didn't get it. I find it interesting that for such holy men, who had to keep track of laws and all (from which they often exempted themselves) they sure seemed to have an awful lot of time on their hands. One wonders what they were even doing near that field of grain on the sabbath. Surely that was in violation of one of their laundry list of rules and regulations. And I would think that just committing that list to memory - not to mention putting their own spin on it - would take up a good chunk of their lives.

Here are some laws that are on the books today in the US:

Alabama

• It is illegal for a driver to be blindfolded while operating a vehicle.
• Dominoes may not be played on Sunday.
• It is illegal to wear a fake mustache that causes laughter in church.

California

• Sunshine is guaranteed to the masses.
• Animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.
  
• Bathhouses are against the law.
  
• It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale.
• Women may not drive in a house coat.

Florida

• Women may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer, as can the salon owner.
• A special law prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest, fine, and/or jailing.
• If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.
• It is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit.
• Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown.
• Having sexual relations with a porcupine is illegal.
• It is illegal to skateboard without a license.

Kansas

• Prohibits shooting rabbits from a motorboat.

Louisiana

• It is illegal to rob a bank and then shoot at the bank teller with a water pistol.

Indiana

• It is illegal for a liquor store to sell cold soft drinks.
• Liquor stores may not sell milk.

Michigan

• You may not swear in front of women and children in the state of Michigan. (Actually, I like this law. I get really tired of hearing the F bomb used in casual conversation. )
  

Nebraska

• It is illegal for bar owners to sell beer unless they are simultaneously brewing a kettle of soup.

New York

• A fine of $25 can be levied for flirting. This old law specifically prohibits men from turning around on any city street and looking "at a woman in that way." A second conviction for a crime of this magnitude calls for the violating male to be forced to wear a "pair of horse-blinders" wherever and whenever he goes outside for a stroll.
• It is against the law to throw a ball at someone's head for fun.
• A license must be purchased before hanging clothes on a clothesline.
• The penalty for jumping off a building is death.

North Dakota

• Beer and pretzels can't be served at the same time in any bar or restaurant.
• It is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes on.

Ohio

• It is illegal to fish for whales on Sunday.
• It is illegal to get a fish drunk.

Pennsylvania

• A person is not eligible to become Governor if he/she has participated in a duel.

Texas

• It is illegal to take more than three sips of beer at a time while standing.
• It is illegal to drive without windshield wipers. You don't need a windshield, but you must have the wipers.
• It is illegal for one to shoot a buffalo from the second story of a hotel.
• It is illegal to milk another person's cow.
• A recently passed anticrime law requires criminals to give their victims 24 hours notice, either orally or in writing, and to explain the nature of the crime to be committed.
• The entire Encyclopedia Britannica is banned in Texas because it contains a formula for making beer at home.

Wisconsin

• You must manually flush all urinals in a building.
• Butter substitutes are not allowed to be served in state prisons.

You can find more of these gems at:
dumblaws.com where you can find hundreds of additional "dumb laws".

Context, folks, it's all about context.


God bless the troops!