Friday, August 31, 2012

Older, Wiser, Weirder

We all have heard the adage "wisdom comes with age", haven't we?  How about the more subtle quote of Robert Frost, “The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected.” ?

There are actually a number of  quotes that support the idea that we gain wisdom as we grow older.

When I can look Life in the eyes,
Grown calm and very coldly wise,
Life will have given me the Truth,
And taken in exchange - my youth.
~Sara Teasdale

So...If I have gotten the gist of all these quotes, when my youth and vitality are shot to hell,  I can cling to the one positive thing that is keeping me afloat and that is that I will be wiser than I was when I was young and had a rockin' body.  HMMMM...I am not sure that is an even trade off.

So in my effort to be coldly wise, I have learned a few new things. I don't suppose there are any adages concerning "great wisdom comes from surfing the net".

One of the things I learned today.

Whales and Waste

I was reading  an article about a boy in England that could be considerably richer thanks to finding a solidified piece of whale vomit he found lying on the beach. While the chunk looks like a yellow-brownish rock, it is, in fact, a valuable piece of ambergris. Ambergris is an expensive ingredient spewed out by whales that is used in perfumes.

Charlie Naysmith found the loaf-sized rock at Hengistbury Head off the the coast of England and after researching his find, his family realized that it could be worth as much as $63,000.


Ambergris is a waxy, bile-like substance that builds up in the intestines of sperm whales, apparently to ease the passage of hard material such as squid beaks through a whale's digestive tract. It's often characterized as whale vomit, and although that's fine as a family-friendly description, the stuff is more widely thought to come out of the whale's back end rather than its front end.

 
The scent of ambergris is what makes it so valuable. The substance has been used as an incense, fragrance, flavoring, remedy or aphrodisiac in many cultures, going back to ancient Egypt and China. Herman Melville devoted a whole chapter of "Moby Dick"  to a discussion of ambergris and how highly prized it was in 19th-century society. "Who would think, then, that such fine ladies and gentlemen should regale themselves with an essence found in the inglorious bowels of a sick whale!" Melville wrote.

Fresh ambergris smells like fresh whale poop, but after seasoning and hardening in the ocean it takes on a more delicate odor.  It is sometimes compared to the smell of tobacco or old churches. According to Christopher Kemp, a biologist who has written a book about ambergris called Floating Gold, says "the problem with describing the smell of ambergris is that it really only smells like ambergris
."


Well, before you go out and try to find a whale that has left some rather valuable poop on the beach, it is illegal in some parts of the world to sell it due to endangered whale laws.  Charlie is a lucky boy as there are no restrictions in England.


Speaking of Poo


Fort Collins, CO- The maker of Fat Tire beer says it's using a reserve water supply because the water in northern Colorado's Poudre (pronounced POO-der) River has become tainted by the wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of acres in June.

New Belgium Brewery objected when it was told it would soon have to go back to using water from the river.  The company says if that happens, it would kill the flavor of the beer and make it undrinkable.






 So if they go back to getting water from Poudre pronounced  Poo-der River, the beer is going to taste like Sh**.  How appropriate.
 

Winners and Losers



 Atlantic City casino is suing 14 gamblers who raked in more than $1.5 million in winnings after realizing that eight decks of cards had not been preshuffled and kept producing the same sequence of cards, over and over.
The gamblers kept raising their bets -- from $10 a hand to $5,000 -- and scored 41 consecutive winning hands of baccarat in April, the Associated Press reports.
As the payouts mounted, Golden Nugget Atlantic City flooded the area with security teams, convinced that someone was cheating, but were unable to figure out how.
In the end, the casino let nine of the gamblers cash out $558,900. The rest still have $977,800 in chips.
In its lawsuit, the casino cites state gambling regulations requiring all casino games to offer fair odds — to both sides. (really?  Would the casino be griping if the odds had been in their favor?  Seriously??)
The casino's lawsuit argues that the gamblers and the casino both began the game believing it was legal and proper — until the players kept winning repeatedly.
Benjamin Dash, a lawyer for the gamblers, counters that his clients did nothing wrong and deserve to be paid.
"The Golden Nugget appealed to gamblers to come in and play games licensed and sanctioned by the state of New Jersey," he says. "My clients did exactly that, and then were denied their winnings. There is absolutely no law in New Jersey that would permit the Golden Nugget to declare the game illegal because it failed to provide shuffled cards."
The casino also asserts in its lawsuit that Gemaco Inc., a Missouri playing card manufacturer, acknowledged it had provided a defective shipment of cards that were not preshuffled.

Are you wondering what I learned that would make me "coldly wise" from this story? I learned if I ever start winning big at a New Jersey casino, something is wrong...red flags go up...can't happen without a  mistake being made. 


One last story...


There is a Difference Between
Being Wise and Being Crafty


 New Mexico corrections officers say an inmate escaped his jail cell by breaking a window bar with a razor blade and a Popsicle stick but changed his mind once he got outside.
Carlos Garcia told police it took about five months to break the bar on his cell window at the Lea County jail with those materials. He also used plastic, newspaper and more Popsicle sticks to fashion a fake window.

The Hobbs News-Sun reports that Garcia changed his mind and climbed back into his second-story cell using a bed sheet.
"He said that sometimes he does crazy things, and he kind of acted like he didn't know what he had done," Stone said. "But then he admitted to doing it."
Garcia has been moved to a maximum-security ward at the state penitentiary. He is serving time for two murder convictions and other crimes.


Even if I make it to 100...I am not sure that I can make a window out of Popsicle sticks, newspaper, and plastic...at least not good enough to fool corrections officers. When he said he sometimes does crazy stuff, was he referring to the murders, the jail break, or the climbing back in the window after the escape?

19 comments:

Jo-Anne said...

I am getting older but am I getting wiser, who bloody well knows sometimes I think I might be but most of the time nah I am not I am just getting more mellow.........things don't stress me as much now days........
Why is it that casinos always try to find a while to not pay out oh yeah they are greedy bastards that is why...............

Cheryl P. said...

The casino being a greedy bastard - That is my take on it too. The fact that there was actually a group of winners set off panic and excuses. How absurd that we would think that you could actually win money at a casino.

I think I stress as much but the subject of the stress is different. Used to be kids and now it is preparing for retirement.

Susan, Super Earthling said...




I don’t remember that quote
from Frost but it’s really spot on, isn’t it? The wisdom that comes with age is
one of the comforts we get in place of losing all the good stuff,
like...perkiness (of both the mental and physical kind—LOL). Wow...regarding the
guy who escaped prison: just think of the amazing things that man could have
accomplished if he would have used his amazing ingenuity for something
beneficial to society!

Cheryl P. said...

Yes, the guy breaking out of jail has pretty much screwed up any chances to use whatever amount of creativity he has. Although he climbed back into his cell after he went to all that trouble to escape. Maybe he has a good arrangement as far as low cost housing.

Tomas Karkalas said...

Firstly, Thank you for the peace that filled me while reading your thoughts. You wrote "great wisdom comes from surfing the net". That is so indeed. Personally I found my grandson such way and recognized our spiritual oneness. I'm learning to be young now, I am learning to play and to smile without any obvious reason for that. You are welcomed to
Art by Tomas

oldereyes said...

"HMMMM...I am not sure that is an even trade off." As someone ten years farther down the road, I'd offer that even trades are hard to come by. Take the wisdom. For some reason, I knew all about ambergris ... although it does surprise me that we haven't come up with a synthetic substitute. I heard about the casino case on the radio and had the same reaction ... how can they do that? Then again, I've never understood how they can ban card counters at the blackjack tables, either. the New Mexico corrections story sounds like a bad version of Shawshank Redemption.

Cheryl P. said...

Sorry for the delay in my response, your comment went into spam. I hope I corrected that so it doesn't happen again.

I love that you are learning to be young again. I struggle with "feeling old", however I too try to keep learning and finding fun things to do.

I absolutely will go visit your website. Thank you so much for stopping by mine.

Cheryl P. said...

I am not surprised you knew about ambergris. You seem to be very knowledgeable on a lot of topics. Good point about coming up with a synthetic. If diamonds and pearls can be created by man you would think whale poop substitutes would be a breeze.

I can't believe that the casino is going to get the money back but I suspect they will go after the Missouri company to recoup some of their losses. Just bizarre how unglued the casinos get when they lose some dough.

I have never understood that either. If someone is sharp enough to count cards and figure out what has been dealt, I really don't get why that is wrong.

Funny about the prison break. The guards don't know what a real window looks like but they must have good food or something as the guy wanted back in..for life yet.

momto8blog said...

truth is stranger than fiction...
and I know, life does not even begin till age 50.

Tomas Karkalas said...

Dear Cheryl, I feel myself very honored by your so wonderful feedback on http://artbytomas.blogspot.com/2012/09/disability-benefits.html Thank you very much
You made my day. Let God bless you too




L.C. Griffith said...

Thanks for the interesting line-up of stories. All I can say about story one is "Blah!"
Story two is a bunch of poo;p
Story three...what a bunch of sore losers. Like you said, if winning is considered a mistake I'd take my wad elsewhere. Not that I have a wad of cash. I'd take my quarters elsewhere.
I was stunned at the genius of erecting a window from such lame supplies. This guy's got some skills. Too bad he uses them for evil.
Okay, off I go into our wild and crazy world. Wish me luck.
Thanks Cheryl!! You're fabulous!

Bodaciousboomer said...

I think the owners of the casino should take some of their usually massive earnings and a buy a wheelbarrow for their testicles. So for once the odds broke in favor of the players? Pull up your big boy BVD's and get over it.

Cheryl P. said...

You're off into the wild and crazy world...that sounds exciting. I do wish you luck. I always wish the very best for you.

I so relate to the quarters. I have even done the nickle and penny slots. I am way to cheap to lose any real money at a casino.

Cheryl P. said...

I totally agree. The odds are always in their favor and that (according to them) is fair but if the gamblers get a break they cry foul. I like your suggestion for the wheelbarrow but I want it to accidentally spill in front of a Brinks truck loading up their money.

meleahrebeccah said...

Here's what I've learned as I've gotten older. I don't know anything!


* Whales & Waste:
Um - I had NO IDEA whale vomit was used for perfumes. And it's kinda grossing me out. But congrats to Charlie and his $63,000 windfall!


* Speaking of Poo:
Ahahahahhahahahahahah!
So if they go back to getting water from Poudre pronounced Poo-der River, the beer is going to taste like Sh**. How appropriate. Ahahahhahahahaha


* Winners and Losers:
I learned if I ever start winning big at a New Jersey casino, to cash out quickly and high tail it out of there!

* There is a Difference Between Being Wise and Being Crafty:
Um… If I was ever IN prison and managed to ESCAPE you can bet your bottom dollar I would NOT be climbing back IN!

Cheryl P. said...

I think I would prefer a whale poo free perfume. Perhaps they could slap that on the label. Ambergris free.

I think you might be the only person on the planet that gets my contorted humor. I thought that the Poo-dre connection was funny.

I think that any time anyone wins in any casino they better high tail it out of there. They would have to pry my winnings from my dead hands before they got it back.

Yes....that is what is so amazing besides the fact that no one noticed for 5 months that he was taking out the bars...why would someone that managed to escape want back in there. Is prison a fun place? Is it easier than paying bills? Does he get better health care than I do? Come to think of it, I should maybe go rob a bank today.

meleahrebeccah said...

I'll drive the getaway car!

Cheryl P. said...

While we are in the pokey, let's get a free law degree compliments of the prison system. I probably need to make sure they have cable TV available. I am sure they do.

meleahrebeccah said...

I'm all in.