Song: 'Too Many Rules' 1961, by Connie Francis. "Too many rules Too many rules Folks are just fools Making too many rules I pray the stars above I haven't lost your love Coz there are too many rules"

Good morning and welcome to Tuesday, July 10, 2018. I read in one of the British papers where it will soon be a hate crime for someone to whistle at another person. I don't know where the balance is, but, making whistling a hate crime seems somewhat of an overkill. One need only Google 'wolf whistle' to see its role in the history of movies, cartoons, and TV. We recently had the new work rules leaked from a major media company here in our country. The new rules sought to help deal with the sexual harassment issues that tend to dominate today's news cycle. In addition to rules against things like flirting, making any kind of physical contact, and reporting on any employee you see engaged in questionable behavior, they also specified an eye contact rule. No one is allowed to maintain eye contact with another employee for more than 5 seconds. Many experts have criticized these rules since they don't believe they will solve a problem but could lead to even more accusations and misunderstandings. All I can say is that we are living in some very strange times. Wouldn't you agree? Think about it. "Hello, human resources, I need to report a 6.5-second eye contact that occurred in a meeting I attended. That 1.5 seconds over the limit really made me feel weird."

Say hello to our new addition to our family.

I know many of you have been waiting on the edge of your seat for the taste test results from the Community Espresso I ordered in. I do have news on that front. Let me introduce my comments here by telling what happened in our Bible study class last Sunday. Two different people had trouble with their cell phones. One was reading The Scriptures from his phone but accidentally hit the audio button and couldn't figure out how to stop the broadcast. Another lady received an audio message and somehow got it on her speaker and she too couldn't figure out how to turn it off. The fellow who had trouble with his Bible program came up to me at the end of the class and apologized. I told him it was no big deal but it was too bad he didn't have one of his grandchildren available to help him with his technology issues. Old people and technology. Well, here's my story. I ordered in the Espresso, however, instead of ordering K-cups, I somehow inadvertently ordered in something called Espresso capsules. These capsules only fit Espresso machines that use them. I called the Community Coffee company. They couldn't take the capsules back or exchange them. They offered me a discount on my next order. What to do? Here I had in my possession $90 worth of Espresso that I paid $45 for but no way to process them. I didn't consult any of my grandchildren, but, I did order me one of those machines. It had to be done! I found one for $70. I have been using it. The best way to describe the results thus far is with the word: S-T-R-O-N-G. I do like one of the blends a lot but it will put those little bumps on your neck when you take the first sip. A second blend I've tried is really hard to describe. It is amazingly strong. It tastes like burned coffee with a charcoal flavor added. It's not bad, but, it will take some getting used to. (You know it's strong if you feel compelled to walk around when sipping it.) When I talked to my eldest about it, he said it sounded like maybe it was the flavor of licking an ashtray. Not a bad description. Okay. So, I hit the wrong box on the order form. Even I goof up once in a while. I do have two more blends to test. I will keep you posted.

One of the things I hate most is to find mistakes in my daily blogs. Especially, after the fact. I actually spotted the desert instead of dessert error in yesterday's blog but failed to go back and correct it. I do like dessert even if, as a diabetic, I often slip around to enjoy it. But I was talking about Moses and his time spent on the back side of the desert because nowhere does it mention him enjoying a banana pudding dessert. I typically do change the ones I find in the copy of record, however, I may leave that one like it is. That way when someone in a galaxy far far away happens upon the electronic record of my blog, they can say, it's not only boring but the fellow didn't know the difference between sand and an ice cream sandwich. Don't get too excited, I'm only having a little fun at my own expense. Let's think about what we have learned today. Firstly, some of the most absurd would be solutions come from those who are thought to be intelligent. Secondly, old people using technology is like watching reruns of The Carol Burnett Show. Lastly, it pays to know that just because you spell a word correctly it doesn't mean that it is the right word. I actually think the grammar software I use knew that I made that mistake. I detected a smirkiness on its part when I hit the publish button. You see what I have to put up with? Enjoy the rest of your day and may God add His blessings. Amen. ....More later.