The World can be a strange place, very strange…

      America's military veterans, whom we supposedly champion wholeheartedly and insist should be properly compensated for their service and the disruption to their lives, must navigate as many as 613 government forms from 18 different agencies to receive what they are due by law. The principal agency, the Department of Veterans Affairs, purports to have been making great progress over the last few years, but earlier this year acknowledged that, still, about 70 percent of claims (covering 600,000 veterans) have been waiting longer than 4 months for yes-or-no decisions. (Yep, we sure treat our vets good….)

     The gourmet lollipop company Lollyphile announced its latest flavor in June: Breast Milk Lollipops (four for $10). Owner Jason Darling said it "slowly dawned on" him that his friends were "producing milk so delicious it could turn a screaming, furious child into a docile, contented one. I knew I had to capture that flavor." (good sense prevents me from commenting, reluctantly)

     Brewmaster John Maier of Rogue Ales in Newport, Ore., pointed out that "wild yeasts" have been used in beer for centuries and thus his company's Beard Beer (from yeast of beards, including at one time, his own) should be regarded as a traditional brew. (I like a good brew but I think I’ll pass on this one, thanks anyway..)

     The Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop franchisers, already with a lineup of sometimes-unappreciated flavors such as buffalo chicken wing soda, briefly experimented in June with "ranch dressing" soda. Needless to say. It was a mistaken adventure….

     Some crime-scene investigative techniques seem far-fetched, but police use of "ear prints" might be approaching the mainstream. Britain convicted its first burglar based on an ear print in 1998, and in May 2013, investigators in Lyon, France, tied a 26-year-old man from the Republic of Georgia to a string of about 80 burglaries -- by taking prints from doors the man had leaned against while listening for activity inside the home.

     There now, aren't you glad you read my blog today? How could you go on without knowing these things? No, don’t thank me; it’s what I do….

Todays Reflection:

 

The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list.

 

Live Long and Prosper....