Summertime and The Livin' Is Easy...

I have had this song stuck in my head for days! Ever since I crossed the  Missouri River. Six times. In one week. The water is really high. And I thought the next line was, "Fish are jumpin', and the water is high".

I was wrong. It's about cotton.
And Gershwin lied. Summertime livin' is NOT easy!

The fact that it's nearly three weeks since I've made it to the blog is proof positive of what I'm saying here. I've got a lot of catching up to do! But for today I have got to get something off my mind.

It's about pet peeves. I have a few. But there is one especially big one that I just have to get out!

It is: Word verifications. Yes, word verifications.

You know when you try and search for concert tickets online, or place an order online, or post a comment on someone's blog online and a box with an obscure and very fuzzy combination of letters pops up with a phrase that says something like, "word verification: please type the following in the box below"? Yes, that's what I'm talking about it.

And what they want you to "type in the box below" looks something like this:

ablingd tijaryya

That is what popped up last time I had to write in a "word verification". True story.

And here is a sampling of some of the other "word verifications" I have run across recently.

hasovi gencei

roonago sunlati

squinge

packado

ejune ercelown

This leaves me with just one thing to say...


People...THESE ARE NOT WORDS!!!

Trust me. I have looked them up. They Are. Not. Words.

But it's not just the not-word words that bothers me about this whole thing. It's how they are written out. They are squiggly, and cryptic, with letters all smashed together and distorted. They make me squint and furrow my eyebrow. And they give me a headache. Every time I have to type in one of these not-word words I wonder, "How the heck does someone with eyes older than mine manage to figure this out?" Are you with me here?

One day I was having an especially difficult time with an especially obscure not-word word and noticed that there is a little handicap icon next to the box. I figured this was for people like me. With a headache. So I clicked on it. If you have ever done this, raise your hand. If it helped you at all, put it down.

My hand is decidedly down. It did not help me. Because it sounded like this:

"squingeeju6neercel3ownhasovig9enceiro0onagosunl0atirestlip7ackado2isisli4oablingd6tijaryya.Again."

And after "again" a repeat. I'm pretty sure they just took all those not-word words and mumbled them together with numbers interspersed. I assume you're supposed to type in the numbers, since they are the one thing that is not like the others... But still, there are no instructions for this! 

It all leaves me very perplexed.

And annoyed.

And that is my rant for the day. 

I am feeling better already. : )

In other news, you'll be happy to know that there is indeed Potato Bread in the Potato State!! 
I got this happy text, with its accompanying picture, from a friend who lives there:

"BAM! Potato bread :)"

But wait, it gets better! One of my other friends did me the favor of researching Bimbo Bakeries. She sent me links so I could learn about them. And I am sharing them. So you can learn, too. : )

http://www.bimbobakeriesusa.com/about_us/our_history.html
http://www.grupobimbo.com.mx/display.php?section=1

I have awesome friends!

And one last parting shot. The Mississippi River. It's pretty full, too.

(*Sings*  "Fish are jumpin', and the water is high...")

Back at the blog. YAY!!