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 Goes good with Coffee or
Tea...
Next update: September,
2008
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Hi Friends,
Coffee
Break consists of a little of this and a little of
that. Hopefully all of it interesting and punched
with humor. If you have seen
something interesting or amusing and would
like to contribute it please send it to me on
the Contact
Joanne form.
Take
care, stay in touch, and hold good
thoughts,
Joanne
Your
San Francisco Bay Area Real Estate Broker... and coffee
lover.
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You heard it here...
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Green Tip: Post Office
Recycles Electronics
The next
time you're in the post office, ask the postal clerk for
an envelope to recycle your cell phones, PDAs, MP3
players, ink jet cartridges, digital cameras, and small
electronics. The post office provides this free
service.
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1-800-goog411
(1-800-466-4411)
Here's a number worth putting in
your cell phone. This is an awesome service from
Google.
It is a cool service that is totally
free
Pick up you phone and dial
1-800-goog411 and tell them what you are looking
for. They will connect you. You can also
have them send you a text message about the
business. And, if you have internet access
they will map the location you're looking for, too.
From now one whether you are on the
road, in your office or at home, you no long have to pay
for expensive information charges by PacBell
or cell phone providers.
Watch this
short video clip by Google.
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 Green Tip:
Bring Your Own Mug
Each year, Americans
discard more than 14 billion paper cups. For instance,
that Styrofoam cup you use at your office meeting will
linger nine generations before decomposing. Instead,
bring a ceramic cup. Same goes for your daily Starbucks
or Coffee Bean brew: consider bringing your own
cup.
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School Lesson ~ Thanks to Ms. Linda
Centoni
Earning the
right to sit at a desk
This is a great lesson and so well presented.
Back in September of 2005, on the first day of school,
Martha Cothren, a social studies school teacher at
Robinson High School in Little Rock, did something not
to be forgotten. On the first day of school, with the
permission of the school superintendent, the principal
and the building supervisor, she removed all of the
desks out of her classroom. When the first period kids
entered the room they discovered that there were no
desks.
Looking around, confused, they asked, 'Ms.
Cothren, where are our desks?' She replied, 'You can't
have a desk until you tell me what you have done to earn
the right to sit at a desk.' They thought, 'Well,
maybe it's our grades.'
'No,' she said.
Maybe it's our behavior.' She told them,
'No, it's not even your behavior.
And so, they came and went, the first
period, second period, third period. Still no desks in
the classroom.
By early afternoon television news crews
had started gathering in Ms. Cothren's classroom to
report about this crazy teacher who had taken all the
desks out of her room.
The final period of the day came and as
the puzzled students found seats on the floor of the
deskless classroom. Martha Cothren said, 'Throughout the
day no one has been able to tell me just what he/she has
done to earn the right to sit at the desks that are
ordinarily found in this classroom. Now I am going to
tell you.'
At this point, Martha Cothren went
over to the door of her classroom and opened it.
Twenty-seven (27) U.S. Veterans, all in uniforms, walked
into that classroom, each one carrying a school desk.
The Vets began placing the school desks in rows, and
then they would walk over and stand alongside the
wall.
By the time the last soldier had set the
final desk in place those kids started to understand,
perhaps for the first time in their lives, just how the
right to sit at those desks had been
earned.
Martha said, 'You didn't earn the right to
sit at these desks. These heroes did it for you. They
placed the desks here for you. Now, it's up to you to
sit in them. It is your responsibility to learn, to be
good students, to be good citizens. They paid the price
so that you could have the freedom to get an education.
Don't ever forget it.'
By the way, this is a true story as
verified by Snopes.com. You can verify this by clicking here.
God Bless America -- and Our
Veterans!!
What Is A
Veteran?
A "Veteran," whether active duty,
discharged, retired, or reserve is "someone who, at one
point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to
"The United States of America," for an amount of "up to
and including his life."
That is honor, and there are way too many
people in this country today who no longer understand
that fact.
The photo at
right:
The Viet Nam War Wall engraved
with the names
of the men and women
who died
for our
country. |
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Big Dog Robot ~ Thanks to Mr. Jim
Knudsen
Big Dog by Boston
Dynamics: The Leader in Lifelike Human
Simulation
The Most Advanced Quadruped Robot on
Earth
BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics
family of robots. It is a quadruped robot that walks,
runs, and climbs on rough terrain and carries heavy
loads. BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that
drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog's legs are
articulated like an animal’s, and have compliant
elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one
step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or
small mule, measuring 1 meter long, 0.7 meters tall and
75 kg weight.
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A chuckle or
two... |
| Thought for the day ~ Thanks to Mr.
Richard DeBiaso |
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Calling an illegal alien an
'undocumented immigrant' is like calling a drug dealer
an 'unlicensed pharmacist'
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| Freestyle-Dancing-Dog ~ Thanks to Mr. Jim
Knudsen |
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This dog has the awe of Simon Cowell and is the
cats meow. A must see video.
Free-Style Dancing
Dog
Kate Nicholas and her border collie "Gin"
on Britain's Got Talent 2008.
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| Knitting ~
Thanks to Mr. Jim Knudsen |
A highway
patrolman pulled alongside a speeding car on the
freeway. Glancing at the car, he was astounded to
see that the blonde behind the wheel was knitting!
Realizing that she was oblivious to his flashing lights
and siren, the trooper cranked down his window,
turned on his bullhorn and yelled, 'PULL
OVER!'
'NO!' the blonde
yelled back, 'IT'S A
SCARF!
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| New Word
~ Thanks to Ms. Barbara Jones |
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I knew someone
would find a name for our election process for this
year. And the new word is...
Electile
Dysfunction: the inability to become aroused
over any of the choices for President put forth by
either party in the 2008 election year.
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| Grandma's boyfriend ~ Thanks to Mr.
Richard DeBiaso |
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A 5-year-old boy went to visit
his grandmother one day. Playing with his toys in her
bedroom while grandma was dusting, he looked up and
said, "Grandma, how come you don't have a boyfriend now
that Grandpa went to heaven?"
Grandma replied, "Honey, my TV is my
boyfriend. I can sit in my bedroom and watch it all day
long. The religious programs make me feel good and the
comedies make me laugh. I'm happy with my TV as my
boyfriend."
Grandma turned on the TV, and the
reception was terrible. She started adjusting the knobs,
trying to get the picture in focus. Frustrated, she
started hitting the backside of the TV hoping to fix the
problem.
The little boy heard the doorbell
ring, so he hurried to open the door and there stood
Grandma's minister. The minister said, "Hello son, is
your Grandma home?"
The little boy replied, "Yeah, she
's in the bedroom bangin' her boyfriend."
The minister fainted.
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| The
Haircut ~ Thanks to Mr. Jim
Knudsen |
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One day a florist goes to a barber for a
haircut. After the cut he asked about his bill and
the barber replies, "I cannot accept money from
you. I'm doing community service this week." The florist
was pleased and left the shop.
When
the barber goes to open his shop the next morning there
is a thank you card and a dozen roses waiting for
him at his door.
Later, a cop comes
in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the
barber again replies, "I cannot accept money from
you. I'm doing community service this week." The
cop is happy and leaves the shop.
The
next morning when the barber goes to open up there is a
thank you card and a dozen donuts waiting for him at his
door.
Later that day, a college professor
comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay
his bill, the barber again replies, "I cannot accept
money from you. I'm doing community service this week."
The professor is very happy and leaves the
shop.
The next morning when the
barber opens his shop, there is a thank you card and a
dozen different books, such as "How to Improve Your
Business and Becoming More
Successful."
Then, a Congressman comes in
for a haircut, and when he goes to pay his bill the
barber again replies, "I cannot accept money from
you. I'm doing community service this week." The
Congressman is very happy and leaves the
shop.
The next morning when the
barber goes to open up, there are a dozen Congressmen
lined up waiting for a free
haircut.
And that, my friends,
illustrates the fundamental difference between the
citizens of our country and the members of our
Congress. Vote carefully this year.
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| Help
for Electile Dysfunction ~ Thanks to Mr. Richard
DeBiaso |
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| Pigs in a station wagon ~ Thanks to Mr.
Jim Knudsen |
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A farmer had five female pigs. Times were
hard, so he decided to take them to the county fair
and sell them. At the fair, he met another Farmer who
owned five male pigs. After talking a bit, they
decided to mate the pigs and split everything
50/50. The farmers lived sixty miles apart. So
they agreed to drive thirty miles each,
and find a field in which to let the pigs
mate.
The first morning, the farmer with the female
pigs got up at 5 A.M., loaded the pigs into the
family station Wagon, which was the only
vehicle he had, and drove the thirty miles.
While the pigs were mating, he asked the other
farmer, "How will I know if they are pregnant?"
The other farmer replied, "If they're
lying in the grass in the morning, they're
pregnant. If they're in the mud, they're
not."
The next morning the pigs were rolling in the
mud. So he hosed them off, loaded them into the
family station wagon again and proceeded
to try again. This continued each morning for
more than a week. The next morning he was too tired
to get out of bed. He called to his wife, "Honey,
please look outside and tell me whether the pigs are in
the mud or in the grass."
"Neither," yelled his wife, "they're in the
station wagon and one of them is honking the
horn."
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| Irish
Thinking ~ Thanks to Mr. Richard
DeBiaso |
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An email from Ireland to the brethren in
the States... a point to ponder despite your
political affiliation:
"We, in
Ireland, can't figure out why you people are even
bothering to hold an election in the United States!
On one side,
you have a pants wearing woman lawyer, married to a
lawyer who can't keep his pants on, who just lost a
long and heated primary against another lawyer who
goes to the wrong church, who is married to yet
another lawyer who doesn't even like the country
her husband wants to run.
Now... on the
other side, you have a nice old war hero whose
name starts with the appropriate 'Mc' terminology,
married to a good looking, younger woman who owns a
beer distributorship. What in Lord's name are ye
lads thinking over there in the
colonies?"
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| Diva
Kitty ~ Thanks to Mr. Jim
Knudsen |
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| Security System
in the South ~ Thanks to Ms. Florence
Pierson |
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How To Install A Home Security System In
The South
1. Go to a second-hand store and buy a pair of men's
used size 14-16 work boots.
2. Place them on your front porch, along with a copy
of Guns and Ammo Magazine.
3. Put a few giant dog dishes next to the boots and
magazines.
4. Leave a note on your door that reads:
Hey Bubba,
Me, Big Jim, Duke and Slim went
for more ammunition. Back in an hour. Don't mess with
the pit bulls - they attacked the mailman this morning
and messed him up real bad. I don't think Killer took
part in it but it was hard to tell from all
the
blood. Anyway, I locked all four of 'em in the house.
Better wait outside.
"Cooter" |
| Two Blonde Gals ~ Thanks to Mr.
Jim Knudsen |
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A girl was visiting her blonde friend, who
had acquired two new dogs, and asked her what their
names were.
The blonde responded by saying that one was named
Rolex and one was named Timex.
Her friend said, "Whoever heard of someone naming
dogs like that?"
"HELLLOOOOO," answered the
blonde. "They're watch dogs."
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Worth a thousand
words... |
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Featured Pictures ~ Thanks to Ms.
Linda Jo Bruton...
The Tiger Templeor Wat Pha Luang
Ta Bua is a Theravada Buddhist temple in
Thailand and
has been a sanctuary for many endangered animals
including several tigers that walk around freely once a
day and can be petted by tourists.
The temple received
several tiger cubs where the mothers had been killed by
poachers. As of 2007, over 21 cubs have been born at the
temple and the total number of tigers is about 12 adult
tigers and 4 cubs.
The tigers are tamed by
being fed with cooked meat to avoid giving them a taste
for blood. The staff keep the tigers under control and
the abbot will intervene if the tiger gets agitated.
They are treated as family members in the temple and
visitors are asked to give a donation if they want to
take photos with the tigers.
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 Before
you go, remember your comments, suggestions, and
contributions are always welcome. When you
come across something funny or informative and in
good taste, please send it along. I would love
to include it with your name and
our thanks.
I leave you to
ponder these golden words a good
friend shared with me:
"The
happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of
everything;
they just make the best of everything
that comes along their way."
For information on buying or
selling east bay homes, please contact me at
510-429-4800 or send me a note on the Contact Joanne form. Sign up for email
alerts
Thank you,
Joanne
P.S. Be sure to add us to your
favorite places.
~
Joanne L. Gardiner, Broker, e-PRO
Realtor
Advantage Realty
Advantage Mortgage
Associates
3205 Whipple Road - Union City, California
94587
(510) 429-4800
San Francisco Bay
Area ~ San Francisco East Bay Real
Estate
web site: http://www.joannegardiner.com
Contact
Joanne
 Our primary realty
service areas in the San
Francisco Bay Area: Hayward, Castro
Valley, Fremont, Newark, Niles, San
Leandro, San Lorenzo, San Ramon, Sunol,
Oakland, Foster City, Burlingame, and San
Mateo.
The
types of real estate in which we specialize
are: single family homes, detached homes, attached
homes, duets, condominiums, townhomes, garden
homes, PUDs, manufactured homes, mobile
homes, income property, investment property,
tri-plexes, four-plexes, apartment
property, and special use properties such as
churches for sale.
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