THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

I'm an accomplished pianist/keyboardist. Over the years I've been willing to practice any style of music, figuring I can learn something from practicing even the world's corniest song. Here's a partial list of songs I've practiced over the years:

The Beverly Hillbillies theme song
The Hogan's Heroes theme song
The I Dream of Jeannie theme song
The Flintstones theme song
The Family Affair theme song
The Scooby Doo theme song
The Gilligan's Island theme song
The "Little Red Book"
"Patricia" (the Real Sex theme song)
"Steppin' Out"
"Crimson & Clover"
"Sweet Caroline"
A 1974 Juicy Fruit commercial jingle
"It's A Heartache"
"You're The One That I Want"
"I Will Survive"

I could probably think of other songs, but I think I'll stop right here--then practice "Hooked On A Feeling." (I'm joking there.) Corn syrup is unhealthful.

SCIENCE: ENSIGN WASP

This strange-looking bug resembles a cross between a house fly and a cricket. You may have seen it and wondered what it is. One answer is "your friend against cockroaches." Another answer is "ensign wasp." The adult wasp feeds on pollen from certain flowers and its larvae feed on roach eggs. The adult female lays several eggs within a roach egg casing. When the eggs hatch the wasp larvae eat the roach eggs. The wasps don't sting. [Source: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2009/07/04/ensign-wasp-4/, http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BI036, et al.]

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

Above is the name of an island in Newfoundland and the island itself.

HISTORY: DUKE UNIVERSITY

The black architect Julian Francis Abele (1881-1950) designed Duke University. However, racism kept him from being invited to the campus--during and after construction. The university's white administrators did not want others to know that a black person designed the campus. A cousin, Julian Abele Cook, later designed Howard University. [Source: American Legacy magazine, Fall 2003, Volume 9, Number 3]

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

Talk about strange animal behavior. Cheyenne, some acquaintances' hyperactive Dachshund pup who is not the one pictured, will lick you directly on your mouth and also tongue your nostrils.

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

A female friend recently told me of an HIV-positive male friend of hers who recurrently shows signs of advanced AIDS such as the flat or raised red or purple lesions caused by the cancer Kaposi's sarcoma (or KS). However, she says he is not ill, and these lesions which appear on his face eventually disappear. The picture above is among the less gruesome ones I've seen of someone with KS, which can make light skin resemble pepperoni pizza. The woman and her friend are African-American. I don't know and didn't ask whether he is light- or dark-skinned.

THE SECRET SERVICE

Ironically, it was the first U.S. president to be assassinated, Abraham Lincoln, who signed the Secret Service into existence in early 1865. The Secret Service formed on July 5, 1865, after Lincoln's death. Its original function was to investigate counterfeiting, opium smuggling, extortion, racketeering and other cases assigned as needed. Under presidents in the late 1800s and 1900s Secret Service agents also investigated wartime espionage, land fraud and government corruption in application of the Homestead Act. Eventually these agents were transferred to the Department of Justice to form the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), assuming duties previously assigned to the Secret Service. The Secret Service finally assumed the duty of protecting the president in 1901. However, Congress did not vote for funding of this role until 1906 and make it permanent until 1951, after the assassination of three U.S. presidents: Lincoln (on April 14, 1865), James Garfield (who was shot on July 2, 1881 but died from related infection and internal bleeding on September 19, 1881) and William McKinley (in September 1901). Seeking to interact with their supporters and to maintain confidentiality in interactions with certain contacts and advisors U.S. presidents have on occasion ordered Secret Service agents to back off. The tragic results of this have been the assassinations of McKinley in 1901 and John F. Kennedy, in Dallas on November 22, 1963. JFK had ordered Secret Service agents away from the corners of his car in that infamous Dallas motorcade. [Source: It Seemed Like A Good Idea ... A Compendium of Great Historical Fiascoes, http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/, http://www.secretservice.gov/history.shtml]

ENTERTAINMENT: THE SCORPIONS

Many bands are much older than you think. Exhibit A is this 1965 photograph of the Scorpions, who were to be an immensely popular rock band in the '70s and '80s. The band's hits include "Holiday," "Lady Starlight," "You Give Me All I Need," "No One Like You," "Blackout," "Still Loving You," "Big City Nights," "Rock You Like A Hurricane" and "Wind of Change." [Picture found at http://www.the-scorpions.com/images/history/history1965.jpg.]

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

Sometime in 2008 the AAA member magazine Texas Journey requested reader submissions for an article titled "My First Car" to appear in its January/February 2009 issue. One respondent was the 77-year-old Denton, Texas doctor William F. King, who said he still owned his first car: a Ford Model T. He was 15 and World War II had just ended when he bought the car from a Dr. Rebecca Evans, who had delivered him at birth.

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

Barry Vinocur, an eloquent college dropout, conned his way into a job as a medical technician. He excelled in the position and later used his cousin's medical records in forging a medical license. He then learned the position by extensive reading and watching physicians on the University of California's medical faculty. With this knowledge he correctly diagnosed a rare blood disorder in an infant at the university and saved its life. He later became the supervisor of the university's helicopter transport services for newborns and co-authored a textbook on intensive care treatment with three other doctors. After his exposure as a fraud he received a light sentence due to his excellent work: probation and 100 hours of community service. [Source: How Con Games Work, M. Allen Henderson, 1985; 1994]

SCIENCE: THE MAYFLY

Anyone who says he's been bitten by a mayfly is lying. An adult mayfly has no functional mouth parts and so cannot bite--or eat. It lives for just a day. It spends most of its life as an aquatic nymph feeding on debris from plants and algae. That's if it's not eaten by predators. Mayflies are the only group of insects that molt after sprouting wings. The wingless nymph swims to the water surface or perches on nearby rocks or plants. Within seconds or minutes it molts into a winged nymph. It soon flies to nearby plants and molts again into a winged adult. Its total life span is about a year. [Source: http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/aimg3.html, et al]

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

A common grammatical error is substituting myself for me. An example of this was on an A&E Biography profile of Timothy McVeigh, who with cohort Terry Nichols bombed the Alfred P. Murrah federal building in Oklahoma City. One woman interviewed recalled that in her childhood McVeigh was her next-door neighbor and baby-sitter and that he would "come over and baby-sit me and play with myself."

A BASIC GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING HEALTH/DENTAL/VISION INSURANCE PLANS

Are you having difficulty choosing an insurance plan? Here are some basics about health, dental and vision insurance. The main types are, in order from lowest premiums/least coverage to highest premiums/most coverage are an HMO or DHMO (Health Maintenance Organization or Dental Health Maintenance Organization) plan, EPO (Exclusive Provider Organization) plan, a PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) plan and an indemnity plan. The higher the premium, the higher the coverage. In other words, the more you pay, the more you get.

An HMO or DHMO (Health Maintenance Organization or Dental Health Maintenance Organization) plan requires you to choose a contracted (in-network) general practitioner or provider, also called a primary care practitioner or primary care provider(PCP). You must have a referral from the PCP before seeing a specialist, who must also be contracted. This plan will not pay for procedures performed by an out- of-network (non-contracted) provider.

An EPO (Exclusive Provider Organization) plan is generally associated with Medicaid or Medicare. It is similar to an HMO or DHMO except that you can see a specialist without a referral. Again, the specialist must be in-network. Typically, providers must obtain pre-treatment authorization before the plan will cover certain procedures.

A PPO (Preferred Provider Organization)plan covers treatments by contracted and non-contracted providers. However, the benefits for in- and out-of-network treatments may differ. In some PPO plans the co-insurance (your and the insurer's percentage share of a charge) and the annual maximum (yearly benefit cap) are less and the deductibles are higher for out-of-network treatments. Some PPO plans waive deductibles for in-network treatments. Non-contracted providers who take the plan submit a claim for their usual and customary charges (UCR's) for procedures they perform and bill you for any balance left after the insurance payment. This is called "balance billing." Non-contracted providers will charge you upfront for procedures they perform and then you must submit the claim to the insurer for reimbursement.

An indemnity plan is similar to a PPO plan except it has no contracts and may provide world-wide coverage. The providers bill the UCR's and may either submit claims for procedures performed or charge you upfront depending on whether they take the plan. People who have this plan typically are those who travel frequently. International companies such as the Coca-Cola Company and Caterpillar will typically offer their employees indemnity plans. However, many individual plans are indemnity plans.

Here are some common mistakes insurance policyholders make:

Not reading and understanding their plan booklets. You should read all literature regarding your plan. If you receive a new plan booklet review it for changes to your plan. You should know at least as much about your plan as the provider does. If any written information is unclear call the insurer or visit its website for clarification.

Not verifying coverage before treatment. Contact the insurer or visit its website and verify what the plan's maximum benefit is, how much of it remains, whether particular procedures are covered, the co-insurance payment percentages, the maximum allowable charges, applicable annual deductibles, whether the deductible's been met, co-payment amounts (fixed upfront fees for procedures), procedure frequency limits, claims address if you don't have it, etc.

Thinking "100 percent" always means "free to the patient." That 100 percent doesn't mean no out-of-pocket expenses, especially if you see a non-contracted provider. If you see a provider who is non-contracted for a PPO plan or you're in an indemnity plan that 100 percent is based on a maximum allowable charge (MAC). The plan will pay the provider the applicable percentage of the MAC and the patient will pay any difference to the provider. The MAC still applies if you must submit a claim for reimbursement.

Confusing co-payments and deductibles. A co-pay is a fixed fee charged whenever that procedure is performed. A deductible is an annual charge to be paid before the year's insurance benefits begin. It's included in the balance for the first procedure of the year requiring a deductible.

Asking, "Do you take the plan?" to descry whether a provider is in contract for a PPO plan. You should ask this question only after you've established that the provider is non-contracted. All providers can take a PPO plan. Instead ask whether the provider is in contract, participates in or is in network for the plan--which are all synonymous. If the provider says the office is non-contracted and you still want to see that provider then it's a matter of whether the provider takes the plan. If so then the provider will submit a claim to the insurer for the procedures performed and balance bill you any difference. If not the provider will ask you to pay for all services upfront and then it's upon you to request reimbursement from the insurer.

Not confirming that the directory of contracted providers is still accurate. Remember, the published directory of participating providers is a year old. A listed provider may have changed offices, retired, closed the practice or dropped or been dropped from the plan. If you are seeking to stay in network ask the provider whether the office still participates in the plan before setting an appointment. If you don't verify this before treatment you may get an unpleasant and costly surprise.

Assuming the provider knows that your company has changed insurers. You should know this before treatment and inform your provider of this change before or during your visit. Don't expect the provider to know and keep abreast of every change your company's plan administrator makes, especially a provider who participates in or takes numerous plans.

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

Shortly after breaking up with a girlfriend my oldest brother saw her featured on America's Most Wanted. She had forged checks totaling thousands of dollars.

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

In mid-July 1983 my parents and I were in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where my mildly retarded middle brother was competing in the Special Olympics track and field events. Just before our car drove under an overpass I saw several people sitting on the grass at the side of the highway and checked my watch. Later, on the evening news I saw a report of a murder committed in that exact spot just after we had passed it. So, my parents and I saw the victim and the perpetrators and were at most a minute shy of witnessing a murder! My parents were nonchalant about the news.

Now a side note: Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver--daughter of the Special Olympics founder Eunice Shriver--appeared at one of the competitions involving my brother. They stood at the rail in front of the bleachers. I and other attendees shook hands with Arnold.

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

One night I saw a wreck and stopped my car and joined the many bystanders on the scene. A car and pickup truck had collided and the car then careened into a convenience store. The car was totaled and the convenience store looked as if it had been bombed. Both drivers were apparently uninjured. The store owner and his employees would likely lose money while his store was in near shambles. The lost income could have meant at least one employee and the store owner being late paying a debt, having less grocery money or having to postpone needed medical treatment. In spite of all this the driver of the car, a woman in her 20s, exclaimed, "I'm worried about my car!"

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

Okay. The two experiences I'll describe here may be scary in that hair-raising, goose bump, teary-eyed way. Returning home in the wee hours of one March morning in 1997, after attending a festival where I had several drinks, I saw a goose in a neighbor's lawn. Later that morning I was jolted awake by a voice shouting "Wake up!" in my room. I hope that was the Doors front man Jim Morrison, who shouts that in one Doors song--"An American Prayer," I think. One morning in January 1998 I was jolted awake by a guttural growl that seemed to come from my pillow. One morning the following January I heard a birdlike shriek from my pillow. I know that none of these sounds came from the others in my household--and that much defies logical or scientific explanation. Maybe that was the message: not to be bound by logic or science. They can understand only a small part of reality. The "Wake up!" call could have been to remind me to remain receptive, open, to the intangible reality that logic and science ignore. Logic and science tend to crowd out spirituality, especially when people place all faith in them. People who do so cannot believe in anything spiritual. They can believe only in what's tangible through the five senses. They are hopelessly world-bound, lacking a sense of Higher Purpose, and don't hear the Voice Within from Beyond. I now consider the aforementioned incidents a reminder that reality is so much more than our bodies and our worldly concerns and responsibilities. So, when I recall the aforementioned incidents now I rejoice.

SCIENCE: MOSQUITO

I've had a few male mosquitoes as guests in my home lately. I know they're male because they didn't bite me or try to. Only the female mosquito bites. However, you don't have to wait to be bitten to determine the mosquito's sex. Just watching how a mosquito behaves around you will indicate whether it is male or female. The male will fly away from you and will pay more attention to a light on in the room than to you. One in my home this evening took a keen interest in my turned on TV. The male feeds on plant juices. So, unless you've recently sprouted leaves or bloomed you need not worry about a male mosquito biting you. The female will fly toward and then land on you unless you swat her away or kill her-- and we all know what she feeds on. She finds you by the carbon dioxide you exhale and your lactic acid excretion--what makes sweaty gym clothes smell like sour milk. To control the mosquito population prevent mosquito pool parties by draining collected water from tires, buckets, bird baths, trash can lids, flower pots, etc.--everything large and small. Just a little water will do for mosquito breeding. However, unlike your gardenias mosquitoes can never be over-watered. The more, the merrier for them.

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

I don't use drugs, am not mentally or physically ill and had not been drinking, but in the wee morning hours of Saturday, April 4, 2009, I saw in my dark room a strange green light appear near my wardrobe hanger then disperse. I'm glad it dispersed. I'm not too fond of green.

THE REAL DIGGITY DOGGONE DIGGITY: STRANGE ACTUAL WORDS & EVENTS

Years ago, a patron of Josie's Pub (now Eddie's Pub) in San Antonio was driving from the bar's parking lot when her car struck an apparently drunk pedestrian. Soon, other patrons gathered on the scene where the wounded pedestrian lied on the ground. Sometime before the police and EMS arrived the sobbing woman actually said, with her voice quivering, "I never hit anyone before."

I guess you could respond to an asinine statement like that with an equally asinine one: "Yeah, the first time is always hard. Generally, people start to enjoy it after their fifth time."

FOOD & BEVERAGES: TIP ON ELIMINATING UNHEALTHFUL FOOD & BEVERAGES

You can greatly reduce your intake of fat, sugar, salt and cholesterol by eliminating or reducing your junk food and soda consumption. Avoid items with product labels listing sugar or salt as their main (first) ingredients, high fructose corn syrup (common in sodas, artificial fruit juices and in bottled tea) or any partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oils, also known as "trans fats" (common in pastries, snacks, lunch foods, breads, cereals, margarine, frozen foods, instant meals and fried foods). Beware of items masquerading as healthful ones such as bottled tea, which often has the same unhealthful ingredients as soda. If you want to enjoy the health benefits of tea brew your own or buy it freshly brewed.

FOOD & BEVERAGES: BENZENE IN SODA

The carcinogen benzene can form in sodas containing vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and either sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate.










[Source: Consumer Reports magazine, October 6 2007, http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/19/health/main1638170.shtml]

JOHN JAY HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF '78

The class song for the 1978 graduating class of John Jay High School in San Antonio, Texas was the Kansas ballad "Dust In The Wind."

PEOPLE: VIRGINIA WOOLF

The British author Virginia Woolf wrote and published a family newspaper, HydePark Gate News, from age 9 to 12. [Source: Biography magazine, March 2001]

ENTERTAINMENT: PAUL McCARTNEY, "WHEN I'M SIXTY-FOUR"

Paul McCartney wrote "When I'm Sixty-Four," a song on the Beatles album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, when he was 16. [Source: the disc jockey "The Casbah" on "The Best of The Beatles," a weekly Sunday program on the San Antonio Community College (SAC) radio station, 90.1 KSYM-FM]. For a list of the people pictured on the Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album cover you can visit http://www.nauert.com/ransgt.htm

PEOPLE: RUSSELL SIMMONS

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, founder of Def Jam Records and the Phat Farm and Baby Phat clothing lines, is a yogi and the brother of Joseph "DJ Run" Simmons of the hip hop pioneers Run DMC.

ENVIRONMENTAL TIP: WATCH WHAT YOU TOSS

Because of the toxic elements in them used batteries, fluorescent bulbs, thermometers, computers, electronic gear, etc. should be treated as hazardous waste and taken to resellers or hazardous material disposal sites. Items such as these should never be discarded. If these items are discarded they can leak toxins into the soil. The toxins in the soil can eventually pollute the water and air and contaminate the food supply, posing a cumulative public health risk. The same care should be given in disposing of fertilizers, pesticides, oil, gas, drain cleaners, brake fluid and other chemicals. Never pour toxic chemicals onto the ground or down drains, flush them down toilets or discard containers for them. Remember, trash cans, dumpsters and land fills should contain only nonhazardous, non-recyclable, biodegradable material. All other items should be recycled or taken to a hazardous material disposal site. Contact your local utility company or your city's information desk for the hazardous material disposal site nearest to you. Think before you toss.

FOOD & BEVERAGES: VITAMIN C (ASCORBIC ACID)

If you want to meet your RDA of vitamin C consider the following: A 1/2 cup of red pepper and one medium papaya have the same vitamin C content (95 mg). That's more vitamin C than you'll get from a 200-ml glass of orange juice (78 mg), 100 grams of strawberries (77 mg) and one kiwi (35 mg). However, the prize for highest vitamin C content goes to the guava. One medium guava has 165 mg of vitamin C. [Source: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5552.html, et al]

PEOPLE: SALVADOR DALI

The Spanish surrealist artist Salvador Dali said he could hallucinate at will.

SCIENCE: JELLYFISH/PORTUGESE MAN-OF-WAR

A dead jellyfish can still sting. Pictured on the left is a box jellyfish, also known as a sea wasp and a marine stinger. It is considered to be the world's most venomous creature. Those who survive a box jellyfish stinging will likely have severe pain lasting for weeks. Unlike other jellyfish the box jellyfish can move and has multiple eyes. However, it has no central nervous system. So, scientists don't yet know how it processes what it sees. [Source: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/box-jellyfish.html,et al]
Pictured above is a Portuguese man-of-war, so named because of its resemblance to a Portuguese warship that sailed centuries ago. It is also known as a "bluebottle" because of its blue-purple color and is commonly mistaken for a jellyfish. However, it belongs to a separate family of organisms known as siphonophores, creatures comprised of collaborative colonies of distinct organisms. It consists of four main polyps classified as zooids. Zooids are organisms with specialized functions that cannot survive separate from other zooids. One zooid is the gas-filled bladder (pneumatophore) with the warship resemblance. It makes the colony float and can deflate for submersion to allow the creature to escape danger above the surface. The dactylozooids are the clusters of zooids that form the tentacles with stinging cells for paralyzing and killing fish and other prey. These tentacles can dangle 165 feet below the surface. Muscles in the tentacles deliver captured prey to the gastrozooids (digestive organisms). The gonozooids are the reproductive organisms. Like a jellyfish a dead Portuguese man-of-war can still sting. The venom in the stinging cells is nearly as potent as a cobra's but human fatalities from Portuguese man-of-war stings are rare because the microscopic stinging cells secrete insufficient venom to kill humans. The rare human fatalities have resulted from severe systemic reactions to the venom. [Source: http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/sertc/The%20Portuguese%20man.pdf, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/portuguese-man-of-war.html, et al]

SCIENCE: THE BULLET ANT

The bullet ant is named for its sting, which has been likened to being shot. Its sting is considered to be the worst among insects, far surpassing the hornet's. The horrific pain from each sting lasts for hours. Members of the Satere-Mawe tribe in Brazil use the ants in an initiation rite wherein initiates place their arms in sleeves full of sedated ants, which eventually awaken. Members must wear the sleeves full of the stinging ants for 10 minutes, and must undergo this ritual 20 times before they're accepted as warriors. [Source: a nature documentary, et al]

PEOPLE: THE WRIGHT BROTHERS

Susan Wright, the mother of aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright, did all of the family's household repairs. Their father, Milton, a reverend, was mechanically challenged. When they test-flew their motor-powered aircraft in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903 the fiercely private and reclusive Wright brothers were in their 30's and had never left their parents' Dayton, Ohio home. Wilbur, who was withdrawn both publicly and privately and shy around women, remained there until he died from typhoid fever on May 30 1912, at 45. He had contracted the infection during a Boston trip. His younger brother, Orville, who was withdrawn publicly but animated and talkative among friends and family, died in his mansion at 76 on January 30, 1948, three days after a heart attack he suffered while repairing his doorbell. [Source: Biography magazine, March 2001]

SCIENCE: TOP-FUEL DRAGSTER

A top-fuel dragster is the fastest accelerating machine on Earth. It can go from 0 to 100 mph in .8 seconds. It accelerates faster than a rocket, a fighter jet or a bullet and takes off with the same thrust as the space shuttle at lift off--5 G's (5 times the force of gravity). [Source:
http://www.nhra.net/streetlegal/funfacts.html, et al.]

ENTERTAINMENT: RUPERT HOLMES, "ESCAPE (THE PINA COLADA SONG)"

Rupert Holmes, famous for the song "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)," has said in a VH1 interview that he hates pina coladas. Often when people recognize him in bars or clubs they associate him with the song and automatically buy him pina coladas--which then go to waste.

PEOPLE: STEVIE WONDER

In his childhood Stevie Wonder's two brothers once started a fire in the family's home thinking he wasn't blind but simply needed more light.