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We took a longer vacation this year, so there are a lot of photos. I won’t share all of them, but it should be enough for you to get a feeling for how it went.

First off, a flight to Phoenix. The plan was to have all carry-on luggage, nothing checked. So everyone had one large (carry-on size) bag and one small (personal item size) bag.

The fun started at the airport parking. Because we were going to be gone for about two weeks, I parked offsite. So we parked and then had to get in the shuttle – 6 people and 12 bags. The kids obliged the driver and gave him a number of bags to load in the back, which meant I had to give him a number of dollars for a tip. I saw that as a learning opportunity for the kids – one of the many new experiences they would have.

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We were at some place that wanted to indicate what certain areas of its establishment were for.

Of course I’m posting this because I thought they worded it oddly.

Do they really think women want to give birth to 4-year-olds? It’s enough work and pain to bring forth a 0-year-old. Multiply everything by about five (weight, height, gestation time) and I think no one would sign up for that. Plus there was no privacy and it was fairly unsanitary as far as maternity wards go.

No wonder that section was empty.

In case you’re wondering, I think they meant “A space for 0- to 4-year-olds” or “A space for kids up to age 4.”

Sometimes people say “We’re all the same inside” to remind others that all people are human and deserve to be treated with kindness and respect.

While I appreciate the intent, I do find fault with the statement. For instance, roughly half the population is born with some different internal organs than the other half of the population. And even then, many people are different inside.

One woman might be different from another because she had knee-replacement surgery and now has artificial knees. That makes her different inside from most people.

Or one man might be different inside from another because he had his appendix removed so he’s missing an organ. That makes him different inside from most people.

“No,” you may say, “not physically the same, but emotionally and stuff. Everyone has the same non-physical needs.”

Then I have the same objection. I know some people who are natural optimists and others who are natural pessimists. Or morning people versus those who stay up late. Everyone is different – different hopes and dreams, different likes and dislikes, and so on.

“But Shakespeare!” you may object. To which I must assume you are referencing the line “if you prick us, do we not bleed?”

And my answer is that there are multiple blood types – we do not all bleed the same stuff. It’s close though.

We’re similar inside, but not all the same.

I was shopping around for a new curtain rod for the shower and I noticed that they were all titled “tension rod”.

They were titled that because they are held in place by pressing against the walls, rather than by being fastened to the walls.

But from what I learned in college, that’s wrong.

The curtain rod is pushing against the walls so it is being compressed. It should be a compression rod.

A tension rod would be somewhere that needed to prevent two walls from spreading apart.

Maybe a better way to do this is to picture a spring in the middle of the bar. To get the curtain rod to stay in place, you wedge it in place – what happens to the spring compared to its normal state? It is compressed. When a tension rod is in use, it is experiencing compression.

Whoever named that thing a tension rod has some explaining to do.

No object other than havoc is ever used with the verb wreak, and vice-versa it seems.

Why not get rid of the apparently redundant word wreak and just say “havocking”?

That should make sense.

Because what else do people wreak other than havoc? Does anyone wreak peace? Wreaking order?

Although havocking for some reason does sound friendlier than wreaking havoc.

Bonus grammar/etymology question: shouldn’t someone have to furl something first before it is unfurled? Yet I never hear of anything being furled.

Nothing to see here today. I’m trying to catch up on sleep after changing time zones. More posts on that will be coming up soon. Plus today is a holiday, at least where I am it is.

I’ve heard or read about the term “herd immunity” with regard to vaccinations. The concept is that once enough people (a large enough percentage) are vaccinated against a certain disease, then that disease can’t spread freely because there aren’t enough hosts. It kind of dies out naturally because there is no place hospitable. Any new member of the community is then safe from the disease just because no one else will have the disease.

I’m trying figure out the opposite effect. What if everyone is infected with something and any new members of the community are not safe? Plague? Epidemic? That’s how I feel about social media.

I’m not on Facechat, but enough people who know me are on Facechat, so anyone can still learn about me through Facechat. Same thing for Instabook and Snapgram.

How can I avoid appearing on social media when everyone around me is infected? It’s nearly impossible unless I avoid people.