Tuesday, January 31, 2012

"Peaceful protest to be held to save the street lights-February 7, 2012"

From RacineUncovered.org:

"Residents have come together and want to be heard. Residents in the Jerome Blvd. area have organized a peaceful protest on Tuesday February 7,2012 around City Hall starting at 4:00 p.m. and ending at 6:45 p.m. just prior to the start time of the Common Council meeting. They have also sent a letter to city hall requesting a common council special hearing (which by law they are entitled to).

"Residents have stated that they are contacting the TV stations in Milwaukee and other media outlets inviting them to this rally to show that this means a lot for residents for the safety of their neighborhoods.

"ALL RESIDENTS OF RACINE ARE ENCOURGAGED TO ATTEND AND SHOW THEIR SUPPORT!"

Primary Colors

Featuring OK Go and a video they made for Sesame Street



Very good, but this only applies to pigments (paints and dyes) and is called subtractive color mixing. Mixing light, such as in live theater, is very different. The primary colors of light are red, green and blue. I think they need a sequel on additive color mixing!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

"Thoughts from the Common Council President Greg Helding-Street Lights & Woowoos"

 
RacineUncovered.org has another story up about the streetlight situation in Racine: http://racineuncovered.org/2012/01/thoughts-from-the-common-council-president-greg-helding-street-lights/

That was sparked by an email from Common Council President Alderman Greg Helding to RacineUncovered.

It also includes a link to a WISN TV12 report on the streetlight issue in Racine: http://www.wisn.com/news/30308931/detail.html

My previous blog on the same subject: http://www.jtirregulars.com/2012/01/fox-6-news-bye-bye-street-lights.html
 

Useless Information




Did you know:

62% of the small towns in America, the population is less then 2,500,

Friday, January 27, 2012

Rémi Gaillard - "Radar"




I've posted videos from Rémi Gaillard here before:
I like his twisted, almost anarchistic, sense of humor.

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Four for Fridays after an industrious week. This morning, I wrestled to come up with some questions, then it hit me... Here are some questions for you.

1) What celebrity do you feel has been overexposed?

2) If you where a celebrity, how much exposure would you give yourself?

3) If you were an actor/actress what role would you like to play?

4) What do you think of the paparazzi?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Friday & Weekend


That's a positive and productive message.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

"QUIZ: How well do you know Racine's history?"

 
From the JournalTimes.com, a quiz on historical facts about Racine: http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/quiz-how-well-do-you-know-racine-s-history/html_76d5d0f6-482f-11e1-be97-0019bb2963f4.html

I started out great and got three right, then got the next four wrong. :-(

Didn't Meatloaf sing, "Three out of seven ain't bad"?
 

"Fox 6 News-Bye-Bye Street Lights"

 
RacineUncovered.org has a video of last night's TV 6 spot on the removal of streetlights in Racine: http://racineuncovered.org/2012/01/fox-6-news-bye-bye-street-lights/

I worry that one big snowstorm, like last year's, will paralyze most of Racine for a week because of cutbacks in snowplowing.
 

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

A Close Encounter Between Venus and the Moon

Venus and the Moon are engaging in their dance the next few months in the evening sky. Tonight the crescent Moon was well below Venus.


Tomorrow night the Moon will be below Venus and Thursday night it will be just above Venus giving two more excellent opportunities to see this nice pairing in the night sky.

But that's not all. Venus is nice and far away from the Sun right now which and the Moon provides a useful guide to help see Venus during the day. I recommend using a program like Stellarium to help you out. Set it up for your location and time of observation. Be sure the Moon and Venus are up in the sky during the day. Note the position of Venus relative to the Moon. Now you are ready to track down Venus in broad daylight.

Find the Moon and slowly scan away from the Moon toward where Venus should be located according to Stellarium. You really have to look directly at Venus to see it during the day. That is, the image of Venus must land on the fovea of your eye. The fovea is the small spot in the center of your retina where the cones are most closely spaced and your vision is most acute. Once you hit that spot, Venus will pop into view so prominently you will wonder how you missed it before.

It takes some practice. Be sure your eyes are focused at infinity (focus on the Moon before you scan will do the trick). It also helps if you stand so the Sun is hidden Sun behind a tree or building to cut down on glare.

Many people wait until close to sunset to try this, but I have seen Venus practically any time it is up, even in the middle of the day. A good strategy might be to try it near sunset on Wednesday night and if you are successful, try it during the day on Thursday.

Happy observing!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my snappy snow sculptures! How are you? Faring better than the sculptures downtown, I hope. These brief flirtations with warmer weather are doing a number on the creations in Monument Square. Saturday was perfect for the event, though. You just take what you get weather-wise when winter rolls in around here. It’s like a rollercoaster ride that you never wanted to get on. You just hang on and pray until it’s over.

As I duly noted last week, the season is over for our hapless Green Bay Packers. These words are just an echo of that catastrophe.

I’m sorry, my dears, but my winter funk persists. I don’t think it’s just the weather. It’s the constant bombardment of bad news from around the world that does it. When it’s nice outside, I can get away from the litany of the negative for awhile. As the weather worsens, I stay inside more. I can astral project to escape, but that takes an extraordinary amount of energy. It’s not for daily use. One of the things that has helped me is searching for the positive on the internet. For instance, I went to YouTube and typed in “happy” into their search engine. Below is one of the videos that came up.



I will admit that watching Mick wiggle his tight buns still makes me happy. You’ve still got it, baby! You and that magic tongue of yours.

Oh my, did I say that? I meant to say that I love all of my readers and I thank you for reading my blog this week. Without you, I would be nothing, like a figment of someone’s imagination. My visits with you are the high point of my week. You are my family.

Skeletons in the family closet? Contact: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Watch out for the changeable weather, my dears. Sunny, dry, cloudy, rainy, snowy, sometimes all in one day. Keep your hat on and your zippers zipped. You never know what the day is going to throw at you. That’s my job. Kia ora!

Open Blog - Wednesday & Thursday


And joyous Thursday!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

"Lee gets OK to emerge from bankruptcy January 30"

From boston.com:

"DAVENPORT, Iowa—Newspaper publisher Lee Enterprises Inc. said Monday that a judge had approved its debt refinancing plan, which will allow it to emerge from prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 30.

"The publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and nearly 50 other newspapers filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec.12 to compel a small minority of lenders to go along with a refinancing plan that gives the company more time to repay about $1 billion in debt. The plan extends due dates to December 2015 and April 2017.

"Lee CEO Mary Junck said the favorable outcome will give the company nearly four years to continue improving its balance sheet.

"Lee's stock jumped 21 cents, or 24 percent, to close at $1.10 on Monday."



Lee Enterprises Inc., of course, is the owner of the Journal Times. I didn't know that their stock was so low. Even as it is, I might be able to buy 5 or 10 of them. How do I do that? I've never owned stock before. I just want to be able to write letters to the editor complaining about various crap while harrumphing that I own stock in the company. "I am your boss," I may say. Or how about, "I own part of your ass,"?

Winter Forming On The Lake!

I will start with Friday night. I was having a bad night trying to sleep. I had a real bad sinus headache and only got a couple hours of sleep. I was suppose to work on Saturday but my with sinus headache it never went away and with the very little sleep I had gotten I didn't want to take the chance driving the car with both things. So Saturday I stayed home and tried to get rid of the headache. It finally went away in the evening. Believe me I tried taking any medicine I could to get rid of the headache.

Then on Sunday I had a short day at work. So Drew had an idea to go out and do something since I was feeling better. I gave him the idea to go and drive around and go to the thrift stores. Yes we did do both things.

The first place we went was by Lake Michigan. The picture you see here is a few blocks away from our place. You can see how the ice is starting to form by the shores. You can also see how the waves are coming in from the winds yesterday.

Then we went downtown by the lake to see if we could see any ducks out there. We did see some Seagulls just laying on the ice. That is in the picture to the right.

I just couldn't believe how the ice was forming downtown already. There was ice up on all the rocks along the lake. Yesterday with the winds the waves came up on the rocks.

We also seen some Seagulls trying to fly into the wind. But they couldn't get anywhere. We tried to get a picture of that but when we would go to snap the picture they went down below the rocks.

Yes we did make it to the thrift stores and he found some more to add to his music collection. I found some books for my daughter and work pants for him and I. 

It was just nice getting out of the house even with it being windy and cold outside. I do enjoy just going out for a drive and looking around. I don't like the cold but as long as it is nice and warm in the car I will go. I hope everyone enjoyed there weekend I did at least on Sunday.

Possible Aurora Tonight

The Sun put out a pretty big flare and CME yesterday which has been hitting Earth this morning. Tonight is a good chance to see aurora. The weather in Racine looks partly cloudy for tonight, so you have a shot.

The most common colors of aurora are green (electrons recombining with oxygen) and red (nitrogen). Other colors can be seen occasionally from different energy level transitions.

Don't give up just because you live in Racine. I saw them from Aurora, Illinois (no, really, that is the name of the city where I lived! Look it up!) just outside Chicago so a big storm can punch through and this is a pretty good storm. Of course, aurora are finicky so no guarantees! I am not anticipating anything in Arizona!

Here is one of my aurora pics from Acadia National Park last September just to get you primed.


UPDATE: The most recent forecast is for aurora low on the horizon from Chicago so you got a chance. See the aurora forecast for updates.

Texting Codes for Seniors

Seniors who are in step with the latest technologies now have  their own codes.

The  kids have all their texting codes, like

BFF (best friends  forever)

LOL (laughing out loud)

So  why not some codes for seniors (60 and over):

ATD  - At the Doctor's

BFF  - Best Friends Funeral

BTW  - Bring the Wheelchair

BYOT - Bring Your Own Teeth

CBM  - Covered by Medicare

CUATSC - See You at the Senior Center

DTAF - Don't Trust A  Fart

FWIW - Forgot Where I Was

FYI  - Found Your Insulin

GGLKI - Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking in!

GGPBL - Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low

GHA  - Got Heartburn Again

HGBM - Had Good Bowel Movement

IMHO - Is My Hearing-Aid On?

LMDO - Laughing My Dentures Out

LOL - Living on Lipitor

OMSG - Oh My! Sorry, Gas

ROFLCGU - Rolling on the Floor Laughing. Can't get Up!

WAITT - Who Am I Talking To?


WTF - Wet the Floor

WTFA - Wet the Furniture Again

WTP - Where're the Prunes?

WWNO - Walker Wheels Need Oil

Monday, January 23, 2012

Useless Informaation


Did you know:

If your city hostss the Winter Games, it is like hosting 3 Superbowls per day for 17 days straight.

Open Blog - Monday & Tuesday


Happy Chinese New Year!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

The Big Chill

Over the weekend, we a festival here in downtown Racine called the Big Chill. Among the attractions were the Door County Sled Dogs and a snow sculpting contest. I didn't go (I'm not much of a fan of the cold weather), but I took these pictures as I passed through downtown. Had to hurry up to take the pictures, rain was coming in as it was slowly was dissolving the artwork.


Hello from the Big Chill.



Magnum Tractors built in Racine at J.I Case



I don't think that is Clarence Clemons



I'm not sure what that is, but it looks cool...



A vision of paradise on a tropic island....



Mice fighting over cheese?

Saturday, January 21, 2012

"Congress puts brakes on anti-piracy bills"

From Reuters.com:

"(Reuters) - Lawmakers stopped anti-piracy legislation in its tracks on Friday, delivering a stunning win for Internet companies that staged an unprecedented online protest this week to kill the previously fast-moving bills.

"Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he would postpone a critical vote that had been scheduled for January 24 "in light of recent events."

"Lamar Smith, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, followed suit, saying his panel would delay action on similar legislation until there is wider agreement on the issue.

"'I have heard from the critics and I take seriously their concerns regarding proposed legislation to address the problem of online piracy. It is clear that we need to revisit the approach on how best to address the problem of foreign thieves that steal and sell American inventions and products,' Smith said in a statement."

Read more:


Hip-hip-hooray!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Four for Fridays

Hello everybody! Welcome back to another amazing episode of Four for Fridays-where I have the questions and you have the answers.... Here are questions for you.

1) Have you ever felt the you are the only sane (or crazy) person in the room?

2) If you were to take a road trip cross country with one person, what person would you take?

3) What is your favorite meal of the day?

4) What are your views on censorship?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Friday & Weekend


Have a fun everyday.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

"Speak English!"



What? What did they say?

I understood "What's the point?" and "Come back."

Jeremy Kyle is a British version of Jerry Springer.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

"The Government Wants to Kill the Internet"



Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my eclectic Eskimos. How are you? My, what a difference a week can make. Last week I was marveling at the warmth and lack of snow. This week, well, you know what happened: snow, ice, cold. So much for our overextended Indian Summer, and on into the breech of winter. Oh dear, I don’t like it. I don’t like the snow, I don’t like the ice, I don’t like the cold. I don’t like any of it. Time to astral project to one of the Caribbean islands.

You also know what happened to our vaunted Green Bay Packers: loss, defeat, end of season. The New York Giants defeated the Packers in their first playoff game. Oh my. Contrary to the rumor that Mr. OrbsCorbs was spreading, I did not go to the ER after the Packers’ loss. I told Mr. OrbsCorbs that Junior’s acting out of each play in front of Senor Zanza and me and the television almost put us in the ER a couple of times. I’m an adult and I know how to handle the Packer loss. Senor Zanza and I got stinking drunk.

Winter can make me melancholic. Melancholy makes me want to listen to music. Thus, I give you a great song by a great artist, Tori Amos perfuming “Winter”:



That song always leaves me a little teary-eyed. I hope that you enjoyed it, though. I hope you enjoyed my entire blog. Thank you for reading it. I just adore visits from the Irregulars and regulars alike. I love you all.

In these dire economic times, I have found it necessary to obtain a second source of income, at least temporarily. Therefore, I have instituted Madame Zoltar’s Income Tax Services, Inc., LLC. I am a CPA (Certified Psychic Accountant) and I offer deep discounts to readers of my blog. Plus, if you get audited, your auditor will be cursed for eternity. Contact madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Be careful out there, my dears. It’s slippery and the frozen ground is unforgiving. Walk safe. Drive safe. Be safe. Madame Zoltar watches over you all. Laconicum!

Open Blog - Wednesday & Thursday


Chocolate candies and strawberries. Yum! (Click on the picture to see the glass sparkle.)

Monday, January 16, 2012

"Wikipedia to go dark Wednesday in protest against SOPA, PIPA"

From USA Today.com:

"Joining the protest against two proposed federal Internet regulation bills, Wikipedia's English-language site will be blacked out for all of Wednesday, co-founder Jimmy Wales announced on Twitter today.

"Beginning at midnight ET on Jan. 18, visitors will see a protest message for 24 hours, Wales tweeted. The move will affect 30 million to 40 million users, he said, correcting an initial figure of 100 million.

"'This is going to be wow,' read one of his tweets.

"Wikipedia and several other sites are calling on lawmakers to block the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA). They are concerned the laws will 'hold website owners liable for links to sources of illegal music and movie downloading, with a detrimental effect on free speech online,' The Financial Times reports."



I don't know enough about this legislation to make an informed comment on it, but I do know that Congress screws up everything it touches. Wikiless Wednesday! Power to the net!

Doomsday

The idiot bird leaps out and drunken leans
Atop the broken universal clock:
The hour is crowed in lunatic thirteens.
Out painted stages fall apart by scenes
While all the actors halt in mortal shock:
The idiot bird leaps out and drunken leans.

Streets crack through in havoc-split ravines
As the doomstruck city crumbles block by block:
The hour is crowed in lunatic thirteens.

Fractured glass flies down in smithereens;
Our lucky relics have been put in hock:
The idiot bird leaps out and drunken leans.

The monkey's wrench has blasted all machines;
We never thought to hear the holy cock:
The hour is crowed in lunatic thirteens.

Too late to ask if end was worth the means,
Too late to calculate the toppling stock:
The idiot bird leaps out and drunken leans,
The hour is crowed in lunatic thirteens.

-- Sylvia Plath

"Sylvia Plath (October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. Born in Massachusetts, she studied at Smith College and Newnham College, Cambridge before receiving acclaim as a professional poet and writer. She married fellow poet Ted Hughes in 1956 and they lived together first in the United States and then England, having two children together: Frieda and Nicholas. Following a long struggle with depression and a marital separation, Plath committed suicide in 1963.[1] Controversy continues to surround the events of her life and death, as well as her writing and legacy.

"Plath is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for her two published collections: The Colossus and Other Poems and Ariel. In 1982, she became the first poet to win a Pulitzer Prize posthumously, for The Collected Poems. She also wrote The Bell Jar, a semi-autobiographical novel published shortly before her death.[2]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_plath

Sable turns 4!!!!!




This is the cake we had made for Sable...Yep, we do need a shrink!

Open Blog - Monday & Tuesday


I hope you all have a good start to the workweek.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Peggy Lee - "Is That All There Is" & "Fever"



Remember that one?

Here she is performing "Fever"

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Now Charging for Online Access


The above image (click to enlarge) appeared on my monitor this morning as I perused JSOnline articles. You get 20 free articles a month now. If you want more than that, you must subscribe. A subscription to their print paper automatically entitles you to online access. If you want online access only, it's $4.29 a month.

As a Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper noted for its investigative journalism, I think $4.29 a month is a bargain for the Journal Sentinel. As a resident of Racine who exhausts his entire income just to stay alive, I can't afford it. So it goes.

Will the Journal Times be next? Would you pay for online access to either one?

Happy birthday Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Both my Mother-in-law and my daughter share a birthday with a very great man. We showed this video to the girls for the first time, still a little too young to appreciate or understand the meaning behind it but I think it's an important topic.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

True Democracy - Would We Want It?

I remember from high school a teacher talking about how the changes in technology and communications could affect our future. She said that someday we might even be able to telephone in our votes on important issues, thus giving the USA a true democracy. I remember thinking that was a good idea at the time.

As you remember from your History or Civics class (do they even teach that anymore?), the United States of America is a republic, wherein the citizens elect representatives, from the local level on up, to represent them and their interests.  That is a representative democracy, or democratic republic.  

Telephones are everywhere now. I suspect that within a generation, over 95% of people in the USA will be connected via the internet or ways we haven't imagined yet. The day is rapidly approaching, if it isn't already here, when almost everyone could vote from the comfort of their own homes. Perhaps for the others, permanent polling places could be set up.

If everyone of voting age could participate in the decision and policy making processes of the government, on any and/or all levels, would we want it?

If that happened, I think that all of the lobbyist money that is now spent on trying to affect our representatives' votes would instead be directed toward whatever sectors of the public vote the most. Massive advertising campaigns would probably be launched both for and against whatever legislation is the most contentious. Would that be better than what we have now?

I believe that even if it were relatively easy for almost everybody to vote, not everyone would vote. I wouldn't be surprised if the level of voter participation stayed below 50%. Of course, those that did vote would be targeted by the ad campaigns.

Personally, I don't think I would want the government run by public opinion. One of my favorite quotes comes from the movie, Men In Black:
"Edwards: Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it.
"Kay: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."

I like the way our government is constituted. The biggest problem with it today, in my opinion, is that it is run mostly by career politicians instead of the rotating "citizen statesmen" that our founding fathers envisioned. I'm not aware of how many "citizen statesmen" are willing to serve. With the viciousness of today's political campaign process, who wants to go through that? Not me (as if I had a chance).

So, what do yo think? True democracy where all voters can vote on all issues, or representative democracy, like we've had for over 200 years?


Friday, January 13, 2012

"End of the September - First Friday Party"



Gee, the Jouranl Times never mentioned this. Good thing they closed down Park 6.

Thanks again to RacineTMZ: http://www.youtube.com/user/RacineTMZ

You can follow RacineTMZ on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/RacineTMZ

"Racine County Jail Inmates - Urinating in Downtown Racine"



"Watch out for the yellow snow." lol

Thank you, RacineTMZ: http://www.youtube.com/user/RacineTMZ

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Four for Fridays on the snowy morning! What a week of contrasts... In the '50's earlier the week, now snow today... Here are some questions for you...

1) What do you do to prepare for a snowstorm?

2) What was the most amount snow you have ever seen?

3) Ever get stuck in the snow?

4) What would you rather have the bitter cold or the snow?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Friday & Weekend


Be careful out there today!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my toasty snow bunnies! How are you? I know you’re toasty because there is no snow and little cold outside. It certainly has been an unusual winter so far. To be honest, sometimes I feel a lot like I’m “waiting for the other shoe to drop.” A small voice in the back of my head keeps saying, “There’s going to be hell to pay for this. Mother Nature and Old Man Winter won’t allow this for long. It’s a trap.” We should enjoy it while we can. I know some golfers and other sports enthusiasts are out. I’ve seen a number of motorcycles. We should be aware that the unexpected can occur at any moment, especially in regard to the weather. Have fun, but don’t put your winter wardrobes away just yet, my dears.

On a sad note, my deepest condolences to Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Mr. Joe Philbin and his family on the loss of their son. May you find the strength and courage that you need at this tragic time.

The Packers, of course, were on a bye last weekend. This Sunday, January 15, at 3:30 PM, in Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Packers, NFC North Division Champions, face the New York Giants, NFC East Division Champions. It will rock ‘n’ roll, but I predict that the Packers will sing the final tune.

I received an email from our esteemed and noble fellow Irregular, Mr. SER. His missive was entitled “Big Foot - Sasquatch????” and appeared thusly,

“Ever since I was 10 or younger people have been searching for Big Foot!

“To date no one has ever captured such an animal or creature. There have been many programs on TV where people, teams, clubs have been on the hunt.

“I personally do not believe they exist.

“Madame Zoltar, what are your thoughts on this subject and do you believe they are real?

“.......SER”

Thank you, Mr. SER, for contacting me on such an important matter. Despite your misgivings, Bigfoot does indeed exist. In fact, I know three personally. One young single guy, Lemoth, and a slightly older couple, Satisan and Rozen. They certainly do believe, and know, about us.

For everyone’s sake, especially their own, the Bigfoot have decided to avoid as much human contact as possible. They don’t want to appear snobbish, but, for one thing, they find our odor very offensive. Satisan says he knows of no other smell so foul on earth. Oh my.

Please understand, the Bigfoot are intelligent beings. They have chosen to avoid us. I believe it would be best if we just ignored them and went about our own business. In fact, they are behind many of the Bigfoot hoaxes that are exposed. That’s right. Any false evidence they can leave behind just further proves the point that there is no such thing as Bigfoot. That is exactly what they want us to believe. And I agree with them. Most of aren’t ready for Bigfoot yet. We are too savage.

Oh dear, I can ramble on once I get started. Thank you again, Mr. SER, for your astute question. And thank you everyone else for reading my blog this week. I love you all for stopping by. The pleasure has been all mine.

How do you spell relief? madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Keep an eye on the weather, kids. I don’t want to be a pessimist, but if it doesn’t become winter pretty soon, I’m going to spend all spring and summer worrying about when and how we’ll pay for this. Don’t let your guard down. Nor anything else, for that matter. Vaticinate!

Open Blog - Wednesday & Thursday


I'm not sure why Wednesdays are considered wacky in so many images, but they are.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

"Flight 1549 3D Reconstruction, Hudson River Ditching Jan 15, 2009"



I hope no one has posted this before.  Start playing the video, then click on the lower right of the video screen to enlarge.  The 3D reconstruction (and audio) start at 1:20 in the video.

Edit: Ha, I knew someone had posted something like this before.  It was me: http://www.jtirregulars.com/2009/03/hudson-river-plane-landing-us-airways.html There's still a few memory cells floating around up there, but not too many.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "Ohio"



40 years later and that song still gives me goosebumps.

The Most Overused Image of 2011


That, of course, is Jared Loughner, the man who shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in the head a year ago. He also killed 6 others and wounded 12 more. That picture, taken shortly after Loughner's arrest, was shocking in contrast to the tragedy he visited upon his victims and us. The deranged glee on Loughner's face seemed to mock the horror and sorrow he had inflicted on others. Almost every story about Loughner, and many of those about Giffords, carry that picture. I've seen it hundreds of times. In fact, I've seen it too many times. It's no longer shocking now. It's just sickening.

I know the photo was resurrected because of the recent anniversary of the shooting. It's a great photo. It's become iconic of our failure to deal with the dangerously mentally ill, but it's just used too often.  Please, editors, give it a break.

Open Blog - Monday & Tuesday


I would only go so far as to say that I like Monday, sometimes.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Useless Information


UPATED PICTURE TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW BIG THEY REALLY ARE...

Did you know:

Rhinoceros beetles are the world's strongest animals!" They can lift 850 times their own weight.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Bus fares will increase and service will be cut

Racine bus fares to rise, service faces trims

Source:
By
Larry Sandler of the Journal Sentinel
Jan. 6, 2012 2:04 p.m.

Racine - Bus fares will increase and service will be cut Sunday for the Belle Urban System, the city announced.
Regular adult bus fare will rise from $1.50 to $2, accompanied by increases in fares for younger, older and disabled riders and in discounted pass rates. Also, evening service will be reduced and summer downtown trolley service will be eliminated.
Those changes were authorized by the city's 2012 budget, in response to cuts in state transit aid, the city Department of Public Works said.


I don't know if there are any bus riders out there but I thought I would post this, I found it in the JSOline, didn't see anything in the Journal Times about it.

Click here for JSOnline Article

Four for Fridays

Happy New Years folks! Welcome to the the first Four for Fridays of the year! It's been a long and exhausting week so far. Just hope the the rest of the year isn't this way... Here are some random questions for you.

1) So, how was your new year celebration?

2) If there is one city you would like to visit, what city would that be?

3) What was the last major project that has been done to your residence?

4) What is your main focus on a song that you are listening to? The lyrics or the instrumentation?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Friday & Weekend


Enjoy your weekend.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

"Hoezo parkeren.wmv"



That's exactly how I park.

(Google translates "hoezo parkeren" as Dutch for "why parking".)

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my New Year babes! How are you? It’s been nippy the last few days, but there’s still no significant amount of snow on the ground. Hip Hip Hooray! Unfortunately, no snow cover in winter is bad for wildlife and the landscape. So, I suppose, we should hope for some snow, right? Oh dear, was that me just making the case for snow? Perhaps the hangover from New Year’s Eve hasn’t worn off completely yet.

Of course, you know that our gallant Green Bay Packers defeated the Detroit Lions this past Sunday. And Mr. Matt Flynn did some remarkable things while Mr. Aaron Rodgers rested on the sideline. Huzzah, huzzah, we are rich with talent. Our extraordinary Packers have won themselves a bye this weekend, so the game to watch is Saturday night’s match up between the Lions and the New Orleans Saints. The winner of that game will meet our green & gold on January 15 for the divisional title. I don’t care who wins, because the poor fellows will have to meet our monsters of the midway the following week. You call that winning?

I know this is the time of year when many people make predictions about the year to come, but I usually refrain from such things. Pay as you go, pay for what you want to know. In any case, I’m particularly glad that I’m not involved in any of that 2012 nonsense. I happen to know for a fact that the world does not come to an end this year. That’s next year. Tee-hee! Of course, I’m fooling. It’s the year after that. No, stop me. I can’t help myself.

I don’t dabble in mass predictions because humans really can’t handle the truth. We are better off not knowing the future of the universe. For those so gifted, however, we should also take advantage of our innate psychic abilities to help others on a personal and economic level. Thus I offer my services to the world. Discounts may apply and you know I will always help a fellow Irregular free of charge. Rates vary for others. Contact me for estimates: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com. Contact me within the next 30 minutes and I’ll throw in a free personal reading.

Thank you so much for reading my blog, dears. You have no idea how much I prize our friendship. I cherish every moment you spend here. Time makes our relationship better, like fine wine.

Dress for the weather my friends. There’s not too many slippery spots out there now, but when they appear, be careful. None of us wants to take a tumble. The hospital doesn’t always have spare parts for irregulars. Septilateral!

Open Blog - Wednesday & Thursday


Is that JTIsland?

Monday, January 2, 2012

Telephone Etiquette

Is it rude not to listen to the messages in your voicemail or on your answering machine, but return the calls and ask, "Why did you call?"

I have a friend who did that for years. He got a lot of complaints, so he just disabled his voicemail Now, you can call him, but you can't leave a message. Often, his ringer is off. When, or if, he answers or calls you back is up to him.

So, back to the original question: is it rude to take messages, but not listen to them before returning calls?

I don't mean to make a point here. I don't know if there even is etiquette anymore. I just want to know what Irregular minds think.

One for the Dog Lovers

Imagine you are a singer and you accompany yourself on the piano. You have a small dog who is your constant companion and who watches as you rehearse.

Got the picture?

Now, imagine that you're away for a few hours, leaving the dog alone at home with the video camera on. Here is what happened while you were away.





Hummingbirds

I went to the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum today. Got to try a little different type of photography with some success...hummingbirds, in flight!

There is a bush outside my living room window that attracts hummingbirds when it blooms. Will have to try some more this spring when the blooms come.

It's Here - 2012 - HAPPY NEW YEAR

Let's hope we have a good year. Holidays went by fast. Then it starts all over again. Anyone have any Great 2011 Stories? Here's hoping that we will not have much snow. I'm more of a summer fan. Skip the Snow & Cold Weather.

What do you do in the winter? Besides working how do you keep busy? I myself like to keep busy on the internet. Everyone stay warm, Don't forget about your pets, keep them inside.

Open Blog - Monday & Tuesday


Who will be the first to post in the first Open Blog of the New Year?

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Some New Year's/New Year Eve Photos

Just a few photos for you. First, from New Year's Eve, the glow of sunset, Venus near the horizon, the Moon and Jupiter (above and left of the Moon) taken with my fisheye lens.


Next a green flash from the setting Sun with the telescopes of Kitt Peak visible on the mountain just to the left.


A post Sunset shot of Kitt Peak.


Finally, Venus setting over saguaros near the bottom of the Catalina Highway.

Here's to a great 2012!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Useless Information



Did you know:

UPS trucks (drivers) HARDLY EVER make a left hand turn.


Corrected for the Wackman......

Happy Leap Year

Happy New Years to all

........SER