Earthquakes

On this day in history, April 26th, 1900, Charles Richter, the creator of the Richter Scale, measuring earthquakes was born.

Prior to the creation of the Richter Scale, 

A Parrot On A Super Shopping Spree

In 2018, Rocco, a very bright African grey parrot, went on a super shopping spree, using Alexa on Amazon.

Today, he continues to live with Marion Wischnewski in her home in Oxfordshire, about 50 miles from London. But in 2018, Rocco had watched Marion use Alexa, and unbeknownst to her, he began ordering groceries as she did.

He ordered strawberries, broccoli, raisins, watermelon, ice cream, a lightbulb, a kite, even a kettle. Groceries were arriving at Marion‘s home, that she couldn’t recall ordering.

She knew Rocco enjoyed speaking with Alexa, and having Alexa play his favorite rock music. But ordering groceries was the next step for this ultra bright twentyish in age parrot. She caught him in the act of ordering groceries and stopped his shopping spree by restricting his access to Alexa.

In a related story, for purposes of our Fable, I too have an ultra-smart African gray parrot, Winston.

An Oceanfront Dream Come True

I live in Southern California, and my dream was always to own an oceanfront home. But when I called my realtor, she said the Southern California coast from Malibu to Santa Monica to Newport Beach is way too expensive. Few people can afford it.

After we hung up, I was very sad thinking my oceanfront dream would never come true. But unexpectedly she called back shouting, “I have just the thing for you! And I’m coming right over to tell you about it!“

Within minutes, she arrived:

“It is right on the ocean front, with miles of unspoiled beaches,” she exclaimed. “The views are fantastic, and the best part, you can buy acres for pennies on the dollar.“

“Where is it,” I asked, my heart beating so fast, I could barely contain myself. 

Dickie, Jr.

Recently, I invested thousands of dollars in an advanced technology toilet from the Japanese firm Toto. Because this toilet was so expensive, I named it in honor of myself, Dickie, Jr.

Dickie, Jr. is a toilet packed with computer chips that perform his many functions and at first, he only spoke in beeps and chirps. Those sounds were easy to hear, and it occurred to me I could teach him to talk.

So, I actively began, and at first had some remarkable results, as he always spoke in a happy tone and I understood everything he said, such as, “How are you today?“

But then he began learning on his own and now loves to be a critic and to gossip. For example, yesterday he said:

The Revival of The Olympic Games

On this date (April 6) in 1896 the modern Olympics resumed in Greece after a 1500-year absence. 241 athletes from 14 nations participated.