“Possum Philosophy: Dick Tracy comes to life - Southwest Virginia Today” plus 1 more

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Possum Philosophy: Dick Tracy comes to life - Southwest Virginia Today Posted: 30 Dec 2010 02:43 PM PST By Stephanie Porter-Nichols Published: December 30, 2010 By ROBERT "ROCKY" CAHILL/Columnist This is the first time this column has borne the dateline of New Year's Day since 2005. Normally folks at this time of the year are looking forward to the future and I will too, but just this week, I was thinking about the past, in particular the comic strip Dick Tracy. I imagine that many of you read, as did I, the strip about the inimitable crime fighter Tracy and his friends and foes. The strip began in October of 1931 and continues (I believe) today. However, it was not the crime-fighter and his adventures that started my reminiscing. It was my cell phone. I got my first cell phone several years ago. It would make and receive phone calls. That was about all it would do and that was all I wanted it to do. The first one I had was pretty much a piece of junk and within less than a year I had to replace it. The guy at the local store swore it was not under warranty but it was; I knew it, and I feel pretty darn sure he did too. In the early days when competition was much less, the folks working in the actual phone stores often tended to be somewhat arrogant—not all of them but enough that I found it quite annoying. Eventually, I had to contact the company's customer service people in the home office, and my phone was immediately replaced. After Terry's and my marriage, it was far cheaper for us to use one company and get the family plan. We chose her company because she had a fancier cell phone and they offered us the better deal. That was when the "smart-phone" first came on the market. It could do far more than just make phone calls. Terry being the lover of high-tech gadgets she is had to have one. When the time came to upgrade she insisted I needed one too. Since it was on sale, I got one. However, it too turned out to be a clunker. I found out they had given me a demonstration model used at the store rather than the new one I thought I was buying. After much haggling, they agreed to replace it. When the replacement arrived, it was a refurbished one. As my old buddy Willy Call taught me years ago, if you want a good drink of water, you go to the head of the stream. I did and the company's vice-president in charge of customer service was extremely nice. She agreed I should have received a new telephone to start and certainly to replace the piece of junk mine turned out to be. So she upgraded me to what was at the time one of the more powerful smart-phones on the market. It will do many things, including browsing and using the Internet. I didn't think I would like it, but I do, very much. It was while talking with a friend about the new smart phones that the Dick Tracy comic strip came to mind. As you former fans of the strip will certainly remember, one of the characters in it was a fellow named Diet Smith. Smith was the owner of what would today be considered a technology company. I think it was Diet Smith Enterprises. He was also a close friend of Tracy and a foe of evildoers everywhere. His company engineers were constantly designing and building all manner of high-tech devices to assist Tracy in fighting crime. The first one I remember was the two-way wrist radio. These small devices looked like a wrist watch. Tracy and his corps of crime-stoppers wore these to communicate. As real-life technology advanced so did Smith's inventions. His company soon developed the two-way wrist TV. Smith also developed a spacecraft that he and Tracy flew to the moon and met the moon folks, including Moon-Maid who eventually married Tracy's son Junior. After that the whole thing became very futuristic. Now think about it folks. The early cell phones were similar to the wrist radio in what one could do with them. Now they are more like the wrist TV in that many of them can now use their capabilities to show the folks on the other end of the call live video whatever you may wish them to see. And although it is being phased out, NASA's Space Shuttles reminded me greatly of Diet Smith's Space Coupe. All of these similarities led my friend, my brother Rusty and me to all agree, we are now living in the era of Diet Smith. Most cell phones today would have been the next natural progression of Smith's wrist radio, from radio or telephone to TV to computer. Kind of makes you think of the Back to the Future movies doesn't it. That's why here as we near the dawning of a new year, I have been thinking of a comic strip I read as boy who was always fascinated by satellites and astronauts and our space program in general. As to the year ahead who knows what it may bring. Cell phones are becoming the norm rather than the new trendy thing. Computers are already in the homes of and being used daily by folks I would never have imagined having any interest in them. The new thing in TVs now appears to be 3-D. iPods hold hundreds of songs to which one may listen through tiny ear phones and reproduce the sound with concert hall quality, especially the Bose ear buds. (This is not a commercial endorsement, it is simply that these tiny speakers, which resemble the earphone that came with my, back then anyway, high-tech transistor radio, produce sound as though you were hearing it live. They amaze me.) With the coming of the New Year let us each to resolve to be as kind and generous to each other as possible, especially so to those in need. It is heartbreaking to hear of so many homeless people sleeping in empty buildings or even under interstate bridges. Many of them are veterans of our military who don't receive the assistance they have earned by their service. And in a land where tons of food is thrown away in garbage daily it is a shame we have so many people, including families with children, who go hungry. Let us also resolve to be as kind as possible to our animal friends. Winter is especially rough on wildlife. Bird feeders are inexpensive as is bird seed and would help our wild bird population greatly. Remember these feathered friends help control the insect population, including such things as the pesky mosquitoes in the area. Small donations to animal shelters would also be a great help. If each of us gave up one lunch per week, donating the money to local animal shelters, it would be a wonderful help. And if you want a pet this new year, adopt one from a shelter. You can find a wonderful friend there and save the life of a great dog or cat as well. Besides, while there are usually minimal costs involved, it won't cost you the hundreds of dollars a purebred animal will, yet they will love you absolutely as much. Terry and I wish for each of you that the coming year proves to be the best one yet for you. May you have, if not all you want, at least all you need. May you be happy and healthy. May you re-connect with old friends and make lots of new ones. We send our wishes for the best of life to each of you and, as folks say here in Virginia's beautiful Southern Highlands, "Lord willin and the creek don't rise, we'll see you next year." A freelance journalist, Robert "Rocky" Cahill writes regularly for the News & Messenger. His Possum Philosophy column appears in each Saturday edition.  This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

Philosophy Miracle Worker Review - Buy Philosophy Skin Care Products 20% OFF Best Offer! - PRLog (free press release) Posted: 30 Dec 2010 09:21 AM PST PRLog (Press Release) – Dec 30, 2010 – Two years ago I made the switch to Philosophy Skin care, begining with the Philosophy Hope line (Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash(AM) applied with Clarisonic, Hope In a Jar SPF(AM), Help Me(PM), Purity(PM) applied with Clarisonic, Help Me(PM), When Hope is Not Enough (WHINE)Serum( PM), Eye Hope(AM & PM), Oxygen Facial every couple of weeks before events). I thought my skin looked the best it could possibly look at may age – 56 in a few days with aging combination skin, very fair with a tendency to redness, the type of skin where every blemish or discoloration is glaringly evident. The Philosophy Hope line corrected most of the discoloration, lines, enlarged pores — a great overall improvement in clarity and firmnes – similar to the complexion of my 40s. Buy Philosophy Skin Care Products 20% OFF best offer - http://skin1care.com/ philosophy/philosophy- miracle-worke ... In September, I purchased the Miracle Worker (MW) Kit and have been transitioning over to it, Miracle Worker Wed PM, Thurs, Fri, Sat Hope Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed AM until I run out of my Hope products – then I will switch to Miracle Worker Regime all the time. My skin looks even better than I imagined it could — I have received many compliments of the your skin looks terrific – fraxel? botox? fillers? "dental work"? variety and I can sometimes tell they doubt my response re Philosophy products. The biggest change has been to the overall look of my skin — it looks brighter and feels firmer and thicker more like younger skin – like in my mid to late 30s. The Miracle Worker Regime I currently use is Microdelivery Exfoliating Wash(AM), WHINE SPF(AM), Purity(PM), MW Retinol Pad, Concentrate and Moisturizer( PM), Microdelivery Peel (1 or 2 times a month), Eye Hope(AM&PM). (Using Clarisonic with cleansers.) As I run out of product I will simplify even more to – Purity (AM & PM) using Claisonic to cleanse, MW Retinol Pads, Concentrate and Moisturizer( PM), and Microdelivery Peel and/or Oxygen Peel(Weekly) . For sun protection I will use a makeup primer with SPF worn under SmashBox Halo, which I have used since it came out and highly recommend. More effective skin care with even fewer products I honestly don't how Philosophy will ever top the Miracle Worker line. Buy Philosophy Skin Care Products 20% OFF best offer - http://skin1care.com/ philosophy-skin- care-review/ Reviews of the top rated skin care products including anti aging, anti wrinkle, acne treatment, cosmetics and more. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

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