Hi Bob

Hello World, It may seem like it's only the beginning of August, but apparently it's later than we think. The month was just barely underway, when what to our wondering eyes should appear, prancing upon the scene, but professional football, of all things, with the fabled Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, this time around with the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills. In fact, the Giants have played another game since then, and won both, so things may be looking up for Big Blue, and the upcoming season may not be a total loss in the swamps of New Jersey after all. Meanwhile, for their cohorts in swamp-land, the Jets and Colts ushered in pre-season play for both teams last week, and Gang Green actually pulled off a win, which probably surprised them as much as anybody else, I dare say. I think it was legendary NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle who once famously observed, "The times, they are a-changing," or Bob's your uncle, as they say. Speaking of changing times, it was scant weeks ago that veteran powerhouse actress Elaine Stritch finally breathed her last at the ripe old age of 89 - which prompted her long-time colleague on "30 Rock," Alec Baldwin, to post the following tweet: "I'm sure that even God is a bit nervous right now." Ya gotta love it! And as long as we're sharing the love, it reminds me of a recent story in the newspaper about an errant SUV that struck a "utility poll," as they described it, and apparently without a hint of irony - although I tend to doubt that the utility's popularity or lack thereof had anything to do with the accident. (Or in the immortal words of The Grammar Police: "Irony is a note that says - YOUR AN IDIOT.") In other entertainment news, such as it is, there's a new reality show on television, all about the rock band KISS and their fledgling attempts to establish an arena football franchise in Los Angeles, no doubt with all the melodrama and controversy that would entail - and not to mention, rock & roll all night and party every day. Anyway, the show is called "4th & Loud," and I admit that I'm easily amused, but I thought that was so funny. On the local scene, I was driving around town last week, and found myself in back of a sharp little convertible sports car, that really got my attention in a big fat hurry - with a snazzy hit-you-over-the-head design and a throaty leave-you-in-the-dust rumble to suit the most demanding adrenaline junkies out there. At first, I thought it was a Corvette, but it lacked the trademark flags on the tail, so I was stumped, and assumed it was some mysterious foreign model that I had never seen or heard of before. On closer inspection, it turned out to be no mystery at all, because its brand and name were plainly visible on its rear end - and I was more surprised than anybody to find myself behind a Pontiac Solstice, which seems like a funny name, but this hot little number is no joke. Apparently GM started making them in 2005, and found themselves with a runaway best-seller on their hands, with 7,000 ordered in the first 10 days, and another 6,000 before the end of the year, followed by over 21,000 in 2006 and 24,000 in 2007 - which are some pretty great numbers for a sports car that nobody has ever heard of. Unfortunately, GM eliminated their Pontiac division in 2009, and the poor blameless Solstice right along with it, alas. Altogether, they churned out over 65,000 of these hot rods in a variety of colors, and while it wouldn't replace the magnificent Plymouth Prowler as my favorite new sports car, it was still a shame to have the rug pulled out from under it through no fault of its own. And while we're on the topic of cars, on another trip around town, I happened across a vintage Mustang parked on the side of the road that was in excellent shape - but you could tell it was really old, because it had all of the original design elements (distinctive tail lights, side scoops and front grille) that have long since changed over time, plus it was in an extremely retro canary yellow that they just don't make any more, and couldn't begin to sell it if they did. As Pete Rozelle once said about change, "I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more," and he wasn't just whistling Dixie, believe me. Of course, we've all long since resigned ourselves to the axiom that "the only thing that is constant is change," and let's face it, Heraclitus hadn't even heard of the Mustang or the Solstice when he said that lo, these thousands of years ago, by Jove. Alert readers may recall a few months ago when I was (making a valiant attempt to) watch the Miss Marple mystery series on NetFlix, only to fall asleep in the middle of "Towards Zero" and wake up in the middle of "Nemesis" instead - and I don't mind saying, to the detriment of both, to a considerable degree. Obviously, my plan was to go back and watch them over again, separately and completely, only this time with more vigilance and a determination to stay awake the whole time from beginning to end. Not so fast! Apparently, the evil minions at NetFlix, who have nothing else to do and way too much time on their hands, periodically purge all of the programming that's already in their repertoire, and replace it with all new selections, and without regard to the ramifications this may have on an unprepared populace, yearning to watch their favorite shows. In this recent go-round of purging, the redoubtable Miss Marple was one of the many casualties, and unlike her literary counterpart and untold legions of fans, I'm sure she never saw it coming, and left all of us high and dry without a clue. (Get it?!) So now I have the first half of one mystery, and the second half of a different mystery, stuck in my head - where my last two poor addled brain cells (which I have renamed Marple and Poirot for the occasion) already have enough problems as it is, heaven knows - and likely to remain that way for some indeterminate time at this rate, and no expectation of a reprieve from NetFlix, thanks not. I think Pete Rozelle was speaking for all of us aggrieved sleuths when he said, "To be on your own, like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone," and that's not just the utility polls talking, I shouldn't wonder. I don't need a popularity poll (or would that be a "pop-utility" poll?) to recommend my latest find from our friends at Boy Howdy Technology, which is their hourly Jigsaw Puzzle game, free for your mobile devices and all sorts of fun, by golly. You can pick how many pieces you want, starting from 9 (3 big pieces each in 3 rows), and increasing in complexity with smaller and smaller pieces and more and more rows (16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81) all the way up to 100. Whew! They have a variety of pictures that change every hour, or you can choose one of your very own pictures, and they will segment it into a jigsaw puzzle for you, which is a kind of cool option, depending on what sort of pictures you may have. It's strangely addictive, although I have the feeling that with lots of smaller pieces, it can turn into more of a headache than a refreshing interlude on an otherwise busy day. And unlike many of the more complicated word games that I often play, at least it doesn't make you feel like any old type of illiterate, incompetent moron - which my last two poor addled brain cells (Marple and Poirot) certainly appreciate, if nothing else. And now, following in the footsteps of the late and lamented Pete Rozelle, I find that "it's time for my boot heels to be wandering," so I'll wrap this up, because after all, these puzzles don't just assemble themselves, and I ought to know. Elle