CommenTerry

Terry's Classic Trivia #7

During World War II, with both teams in danger of folding, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers temporarily merged to form the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Steagles.

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Have you ever wondered why TV comedy series' always last just 30 minutes while TV drama series' always last an hour? It's because the average person's attention span is much shorter for comedies than it is for dramas. Also, the plot lines for comedies are more difficult for their writers to hold together for longer periods of time.

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Most people are familiar with some of the alternate names for Bible characters. For example, Abraham was previously known as Abram, Sarah was previously named as Sarai, and Paul was previously called Saul.

However, did you know God changed Jacob's name to Israel and Esau's name to Edom? That's why Jacob's descendants are referred to as the Children of Israel or Israelites while Esau's descendants are referred to as the Children of Edom or Edomites, even though they were all descendants of Abraham and Isaac.

Other Bible characters with alternative names that you may not be aware of are Joseph/Zaphenath-Paneah, Benjamin/Ben-Oni, Jethro/Raguel/Reuel (Moses' father-in-law), Joshua/Jehoshua/Hoshea, Gideon/Jerubbaal, Naomi/Mara, Esther/Hadassah, Shadrach/Hananiah, Meshach/Mishael, Abdenego/Azariah, Daniel/Belteshazzar, Solomon/Jedidiah, Matthew/Levi, and Peter/Simon/Cephas.

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June and August are the only two months that never have a national or Christian holiday in the United States.

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The Oakland Raiders are the only major professional sports team to relocate back to a city where it was previously located. In 1982, the Raiders left Oakland for Los Angeles. In 1995, the team relocated back to Oakland. 

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The official score of a forfeit in the National League is 1-0, whereas the official score of a forfeit on the American League is 9-0.

The 54 States of America?

Many people don't realize this, but we had a situation in 1995 in which the United States was nearly on its way to having four additional states. That year, the province of Quebec narrowly rejected a ballot measure to secede from Canada. Had the measure passed, it would have resulted not only in the independence of Quebec but also the isolation of the four Canadian Maritime Provinces from the rest of the country (since they are all east of Quebec while the remainder of the country is west of that province). Anyway, it is likely that those provinces - Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick - would have broken off from Canada and eventually petitioned for entry into the United States.

Ah, But Where Did the Original Come From?

I don't completely buy into the idea that one can't catch a cold, the flu, or another virus without being around other people. For example, someone has to be the first to get the flu each year. How does that person catch it? The people who are experts at this might say the person caught it from a bird. Okay, then how did the first bird get it? Then they might say that birds get it from insects. Okay, then how did the first insect get it?

Classic Rants and Raves #25

The "it's not my fault" excuse reaches a point of diminishing returns very quickly. It's better to once in a while accept the blame for something that really isn't your fault than to have people start sarcastically saying among themselves that "it's never his/her fault." 

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I don't understand people who can still function while they are sick or injured. When I'm sick or injured, I'm totally non-functional. I guess that's why I'm such and health and safety nut.   

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Realists are often mistaken for pessimists or cynics.

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The difference between a successful and a failed life can often be traced back to the results of two or three very important decisions.

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The older I get, the more I need to be in the right mood to do anything.   

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Once in a while, I'll make the statement that such-and-such could never happen. I'll only say that, though, when I'm referring to something that I really want to happen. I'm hoping for a kind of "reverse jinx.".

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For at least one hour every week, I have to turn off the TV, take a break from the modern world's cacophony, and enjoy some peace and quiet.

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Most of my fellow Christians hold to the notion that nothing happens by chance. However, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus refuted this notion when said that one of the passers-by who didn't help the beaten man had come along "by chance."

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It's funny how some people have names that match what they do. For example, a programmer named Cody or a nudist named Buffy!

Where Do Your Interests Really Lie?

Here's an exercise to help you determine where you interests really lie. Select at random three or more newspaper headlines (on different topics) in the morning and then try to commit them to memory. In the evening, try to recall all of those headlines. The one you can memorize the easiest is probably the one dealing with the subject you are the most interested in. The one you have the toughest time memorizing is probably the one dealing with the subject you are the least interested in.

Failed at the Small Things? So What?

Just because someone has difficulty with the small things in life doesn't necessarily mean he or she can't accomplish bigger and more important things. I've known people barely capable of lacing their own shoes who have excelled in the fields of medicine, law, or science. I've also known people who were rejected by the lesser but were accepted by the greater! Therefore, we should never become discouraged when we fail or get rejected, as it doesn't necessarily have any bearing on anything else that we might try to accomplish.

Classic Rants and Raves #24

Spoken words and written letters are temporary; emails are forever! 

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When you are are doing something you hate, you will look at your watch think how the time is just dragging along. When you are doing something you like, you will look at your watch and think how quickly the time is passing. When you are doing something you love, you won't look at your watch! 

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It's amazing how a good washing and a 99 cent pair of shoe laces will make a pair of old sneakers look almost new again.

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I've always made a practice of identifying things that could potentially cause trouble for me and eliminating as many of them as possible.

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I'm not completely sure what hell is going to be like, but I imagine that one of the things its residents will be required to do on a regular basis is sit around and watch daytime TV. That alone would be enough to make me not want to go there!   

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One of the silliest recent fads (that I hope soon runs its course) is musical ring-tones on cell phones.

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Apparently, some members of the media consider celebrity status to be a political office. Case in point, a reporter was interviewing Oprah Winfrey a couple of years ago and asked her if she aspired to higher office!

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People who need people ..... are often left holding the bag!

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When someone is trying to sell you something, pay as close attention to what they don't say as you do to what they do say.

2008 Presidential Campaign Update #13

We're now 51 days from the leadoff contest -- the Iowa Caucuses -- and we still have 16 official entries, eight Republicans and eight Democrats, in the 2008 presidential sweepstakes.

The Republicans are Representative Duncan Hunter of California, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Arizona Senator John McCain, Representative Ron Paul of Texas, Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, and former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson.

The Democrats are former Alaska Senator Mike Gravel, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, former North Carolina Senator and 2004 Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee John Edwards, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, and Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

Today, I also offer my updated presidential power ratings for both parties, in which I rank the candidates in order of their likelihood to receive their respective party's presidential nomination. At this point, all potential major candidates have either opted in or out. Therefore, only the official candidates will be included in the rankings for the rest of the way. Of course, these rankings will fluctuate with time, as the fortunes of the candidates change and some ultimately drop out. Here's my latest installment:

Democrats:

1. Hillary Clinton

2. Barack Obama

3. John Edwards

4. Bill Richardson

5. Joe Biden

6. Chris Dodd

7. Dennis Kucinich

8. Mike Gravel

Republicans:

1. Rudy Giuliani

2. Mitt Romney

3. John McCain

4. Fred Thompson

5. Mike Huckabee

6. Ron Paul

7. Duncan Hunter

8. Tom Tancredo

Stay tuned for regular updates, with the next one coming around the second week in December.

Will I Still Want Anything When I'm 64?

At my current age, I can now afford most of the things I wanted at age 20 but could not afford back then. However, I have not run out and bought any of them because now I no longer want them. At age 60, I'll probably be able to afford most of the things I want now but cannot afford. But, when that time comes, will I still want them?

We Could All Learn a Lesson from JVC

Remember the VCR format battle between Beta and VHS during the early 1980's? VHS ultimately won even though Beta was introduced first and was the technologically superior product. That happened because JVC allowed other companies free of use of its VHS technology for their VCRs. Sony, only the other hand, charged a licensing fee for the use of its Beta format. I think there's a lesson in there somewhere.