Old Photographs

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They're softening us up

"Sex stings -- Sentences others received, and what it could mean for Becker"

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/article_78e11fd0-1e89-11df-b2b8-001cc4c03286.html

That's funny, because I was going to post a blog this past Wednesday reminding everyone that it was BS (Becker Sentencing) Day in two weeks. Then I thought it was a bit premature and decided to wait until this coming Wednesday. But I've been scooped by the Journal Times.

What I was going to say in my blog is that I still believe that Becker will serve no time in jail or prison, but that I didn't believe that as assuredly as I once had. This new article in the Journal Times, however, restores much of my faith in the belief that Becker will walk.

An old commercial you will never see again

Don't Mess with Old Timers

*Caution: Language and Violence Advisory*



This reminds me of a buddy of mine, a decorated Vietnam vet, who likes to take walks near his home. One day as he strolled along, a man tried to mug him. My buddy hit the guy in the side of the head and left him unconscious on the sidewalk, then continued on his walk. He said that when he returned later, the would-be mugger was gone.

Interesting to note that the camerawoman in the video urges her friend to "beat his white ass," but then wants to press charges after her friend is smacked down.

Space Shuttle and ISS Passes

Not many chances to see both the ISS and the Shuttle at the same time, but we get some chances coming up. The Shuttle undocks tonight at 7:54 EST. For the U.S., the next couple of days favor the early birds as the passes will take place in the morning. You can find times and where to look for your location at Heavens Above or with the Spaceweather Simple Satellite Tracker.

Racine is lucky to get two passes tomorrow morning: 4:21am and 5:52am. Sunday is at 4:43am. The passes on Saturday are fairly low in the northeast (first one) and northwest (second one). The Sunday pass is higher in the northeast.

It is fun to photograph these flybys. All you need is a camera capable of doing times exposures and a tripod. Use a lens with a nice wide field of view. I use a Canon Digital Rebel XTi with the 18-55mm zoom lens that was included with it. 15-30 second exposures produce nice trail lengths. I vary the ISO depending on lighting conditions. I use higher ISO when the sky is darker. If it is close to sunrise or sunset and the sky is light, use a low ISO so you don't overexpose the sky. I always get out before the scheduled pass so I can do a few test shots to find the right settings. Here is a shot of the ISS and Shuttle I took last November in Tucson.

The ISS is on the right and the Shuttle on the left. Look closely at the very end of the ISS streak on the right. Note to it is turning red and fading. The ISS is going into Earth's shadow. The astronauts on board are experiencing sunset! The light at sunset is reddened and you can see that in the reflected light of the ISS here as well.

I don't know if I will try to photograph them. They passes here in Tucson are very low in the sky the next couple of days and might be tough to get. Still, I have the lovely mountains in the background so I might be able to motivate myself to get up for that!

Four for Fridays

Hello everybody! This week's topic is about crushes...

1) Do you remember your first crush?

2) Do you remember your first kiss?

3) How old were you?

4) Do you have a celebrity crush? If so, who?

Enjoy your weekend!

UrinalFly.com

Give them something to aim for!

Keeps Bathrooms up to 85% cleaner

• Cleaner, Safer restrooms in minutes
• Made famous in the Amsterdam International Airport
• Reduces spillage in Men's restrooms
• Installs in seconds

http://www.urinalfly.com/

I found this after hearing on Manswers that targets in urinals reduced "spillage" by 80%. UrinalFly.com claims even better than that. Besides flies, they also have targets, and little trees, that you can aim at.

An Interesting Way to Look at Obama's Budget...

President's are required to present a budget to Congress and Obama did his 2011 budget recently. This is largely ceremonial as I can't recall the last time the final budget was the same as the proposal (for as long as I have been conscious of the process, they are almost always declared DOA, even by the President's own party).

The New York Times prepared an interactive graph of the budget. You can see a snapshot below or go to the interactive version.
So go ahead and snoop around. Find the things you would like to cut...some of the biggest political hot potatoes in terms of spending are pretty hard to find amongst all those teeny tiny squares. If nothing else, it shows the answers to the deficit problem may not be quite as easy as some politicians would have you believe.

Gary Coleman Does Not Waffle

NYDailyNews.com: Gary Coleman blows up, storms off 'The Insider' set after being asked if his marriage is abusive

He may not waffle, but he's toast.

And From The "Down to Five, On the Slide, Tower Inside, Have a Nice Ride" Dept.......

So you liked the first one. That was your mistake because here is another. I can't take pictures Like Ser and HB, but I can fly a plane.......
It's a few minutes long, but not as long as "Hey Jude".

Another Fundraiser for Lying John Tonight - You are Not Invited

http://news.racinepost.com/2010/02/sc-johnson-ceo-attending-fundraiser-for.html

All the muckety-mucks are getting together to give lying John more money tonight. These are the "leaders" of Racine - the ones who make sure that we get art and trains and art. Ken Buser, the head honcho at Wheaton-Franciscan will be there, presumably to get assurances from hizzoner that W-F will maintain its monopoly in Racine, continuing to give us the highest health care costs in all of Wisconsin. Gee, just like our unemployment rate.

Party on, lying John!

A Spaghetti Joke

Spaghetti

A wealthy man was having an affair with an Italian woman for a few years.
One night, during one of their rendezvous, she confided in him that she was pregnant.
Not wanting to ruin his reputation or his marriage, he paid her a large sum of money if she would go to Italy to have the child. If she stayed in Italy,
he would also provide child support until the child turned 18.
She agreed, but wondered how he would know when the baby was born. To keep it discrete, he told her to mail him a post card, and write "Spaghetti" on the back. He would then arrange for child support.
One day, about 9 months later, he came home to his confused wife.
"Honey," she said, "you received a very strange post card today."
"Oh, just give it to me and I'll explain it later," he said.
The wife obeyed, and watched as her husband read the card, turned white, and fainted.
On the card was written "Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti. Two with meatballs, one without."

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my cabin fevered friends! How are you? Hasn’t it been nice not to hear much of the ‘s’ word lately? I even saw the sun a few times in the past week. If you choose a pile of ‘s’ near the sidewalk, you can note how much it recedes with each day above freezing. Unless, of course, there is more ‘s.’ Sooner or later, the ‘s’ will fly again. The days are getting noticeably longer, too. That is so much nicer, the extra light. Thank you, Sol.

How about all the news on the local scene? Oy vey, as my third cousin twice removed might be inclined to say. I have all of my positive mojo trained on Racine. In fact, I started to worry that somehow things might have gotten reversed, so I double-checked my polarity. Then I triple-checked, just to be sure. But I was correct. I’m hitting Racine with a ton of good vibes. Something very nasty must be lurking around to absorb all that and still churn out the negative energy. I’m beginning to think it might be some of the skeletons in Racine’s closet - literally.

Mr. Knapp, is that you? Yoo-hoo! Come out, come out, whoever you are!

My intentions here were to post something positive to ward off more gloom, but as a matter of fact, I feel like snuggling up with a good blanket, a good movie, and a good pizza more than anything else. Sometimes the best thing to do is to just take care of you. (No, I didn’t get any Valentines Day cards or gifts, but it really doesn’t matter, no, sniff, it really doesn’t…) I wonder if somebody makes pizza with chocolate topping. More importantly, do they deliver?

That is so important, my dear irregulars: take care of yourselves. Take or make the time for you. Do what you must to make yourself happy (within the bounds of the law and common sense, please). In difficult times, it is all the more important to stay centered and serene. Exercise, prayer, meditation, chocolate cake, whatever it takes - just do it.®

Thank you for reading my blog this week, my friends. I love you. Don’t forget to input your basic queries to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

‘Snowmageddon,’ my hinder. Trying living in Wisconsin, home of the ‘s’ word. Ramiferous!

State Approves Spending for High Speed Train

I’m playing JT...Copying AP news!

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - State lawmakers gave approval Tuesday to spending $810 million in federal stimulus funding on a high-speed rail line between Madison and Milwaukee, despite the objections of Republicans who said it would cost too much and be underused.

The vote clears the way for the state Department of Transportation to begin creating proposals and soliciting bids for environmental studies on where to place the train stations and other work.

JT article on high speed train

So if it makes 6 stops from Milwaukee to Mad Town at a average of 6 minutes that is 36 minutes of sit time! So in reality, the train has to make it from Milwaukee to Mad Town in less then 40 minutes (40 + 35 sit time). You can drive there in 75 minutes. OH, now you have your own vehicle to drive around Madison with, otherwise you have to rely on someone picking you up, rent a car, taxi or taking a bus to your final destination.

Nail Gun Art

How many years of framing does it take before you can do that?

Dogs and Cats

For pet lovers out there, I got this in an e-mail today. I thought is was funny...

Dear Dogs and Cats: The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack.. Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort, however. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the front door:


TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:

(1) They live here. You don't.
(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.
(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.

Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
(1) eat less,
(2) don't ask for money all the time,
(3) are easier to train,
(4) normally come when called,
(5) never ask to drive the car,
(6) don't smoke or drink,
(7) don't want to wear your clothes,
(8) don't have to buy the latest fashions,
(9) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and
(10) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children

A Dogs Dinner

The Wheaton-Franciscan Brouhaha

http://news.racinepost.com/2010/02/doctor-wheaton-franciscan-will-be.html

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/article_58d09228-1855-11df-9e75-001cc4c002e0.html

Any thoughts? My doctor was one of the ones who left in the great purge of the late 90's. He signed up with Aurora, has been back in Racine for a long time, and I think he's great. Other healthcare professionals have said the same about him.

I haven't had a lot of personal experience with the local hospital: a couple of emergency room visits and the odd test. I've been satisfied. My mother, on the other hand, has had more experience with Wheaton-Franciscan, and some of it has not been pretty.

I'm glad that this is finally being talked about in public. Being the cynic that I am, I believe that W-F will do everything that they can to whitewash and minimize this, rather than take the opportunity to honestly and openly face the issues hindering them. I hope I'm wrong.

Anyone watching the Olympics?

I watched the girls (ladies) Freestyle Skiing Mogul competition, totally amazing. Those girls kick ass.

Although, I think my knees and hips hurt just watching them!

The Two Eyed Green Flash

I went out tonight to try and see the Moon, Jupiter, and Venus that I mentioned yesterday. I went up to Wind Point on the Catalina Highway (about mile marker 14 at around 6500 feet elevation). Unfortunately, low clouds made it difficult and I didn't catch them.

However, I did get another green flash at sunset.

Click to embiggen as needed. Okay, the Sun was setting, but there is a mountain peak right there. Watch what happens in the next photo.

See how that peak divided the last green flash...now we have two green spots! This is not the first time I have seen this happen, but the first time I got a pic. Several years ago, I saw this and the mountain had very different slopes on each side of the peak. That meant one green flash occurred a few seconds before the other. These were pretty close to the same time.

So I didn't get the threesome, but I still got some interesting shots. I will leave you with one of my last shots...the city lights of Tucson coming on at night.

TheFunTheory.com

http://www.thefuntheory.com/

Cake Decorating From Russia

These are all completely edible cakes made by a lady in Russia . All you see below are cakes that can be eaten without any part of it left. No plastics or any other artificial stuff is being used - everything is edible. Cakes by Zhanna from St. Petersburg.

A Challenging Valentine Day Observation...

On Valentine's Day, we will have a nice grouping in the west RIGHT after sunset. It will be challenging to see since the sky will still be brightly lit, but worth giving it a try if you have a clear western horizon. We will have a close grouping of Venus (Godess of love and beauty...appropriate for the day), Jupiter and a very slender crescent Moon. A chart is shown below.

You will look slightly south of west as you can see. This map shows the positions only about 10 minutes after sunset (in Tucson). All three objects are very bright, but you can't delay after sunset if you want a shot at them!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Continuous Chest Compression CPR

The life you save may be mine!

Mr. Brain's Pork Faggots

BBC News: Family of faggot fans fly the flag


"A West Midlands family is playing a central role in the quest to raise the profile of a forgotten British dish - faggots.

"The Doody family from Wolverhampton has been crowned The Faggot Family in a national competition, and to kick off their reign they will launch National Faggot Week."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2698507.stmtext

Apparently, this is a real product:
http://www.tesco.com/superstore/xpi/5/xpi50150805.htm

The "Doody" family, no less. Ain't language something?

Happy Birthday Abe Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) served as the 16th President of the United States from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery. Before his election in 1860 as the first Republican president, Lincoln had been a country lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, a member of the United States House of Representatives, and twice an unsuccessful candidate for election to the U.S. Senate. As an outspoken opponent of the expansion of slavery in the United States,[1][2] Lincoln won the Republican Party nomination in 1860 and was elected president later that year. His tenure in office was occupied primarily with the defeat of the secessionist Confederate States of America in the American Civil War. He introduced measures that resulted in the abolition of slavery, issuing his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and promoting the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Six days after the large-scale surrender of Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee, Lincoln became the first American president to be assassinated.

Sorce iformation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abe_Lincoln

Four for Fridays

Hello Everybody! Nice to see ya again! Let's get silly!

1) Do you pull practical jokes?

2) How would you describe your since of humor?

3) Who's your favorite comedian?

4) When was the last time you laughed?

Have fun! Enjoy your weekend!

Jefferson Airplane - "Comin' Back to Me"

"But I know what it always has been..."

Liagra

The Number One Choice of Racine City Council

Hey, Mayor Dickert!

Google Fiber for Communities

"Google is planning to launch an experiment that we hope will make Internet access better and faster for everyone. We plan to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more trial locations across the country. Our networks will deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today, over 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We'll offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

"From now until March 26th, we're asking interested municipalities to provide us with information about their communities through a Request for information (RFI), which we'll use to determine where to build our network."



http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/overview

http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/options

Somebody in an official capacity in Racine, Wisconsin, get on this fast! As I understand it, if this works out, Google may offer fiber optic internet service nationwide. A monopoly? Maybe, but a damn fast one. We've lagged behind Japan and Europe in internet speed for long enough.

Again, all you suits and suitesses in City Hall, get Google fiber optic internet service installed in Racine! Make this a priority! Think of it! We'll be famous, we'll be fast, we'll piss off Time Warner Cable immensely. People will want to move here just for the incredibly fast internet service. Dickert, if you get this done, I may even start shilling for you.

Podcast Archive

Podcast Archive: "Monday, February 8, 2010"

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my sublime snow bunnies! How are you? Well, I guess we shouldn’t complain too much about this storm. We haven’t had that much snow this winter, and a few whoppers are part of just about every winter in Wisconsin. I joined the humble ranks of Ms. kk and others yesterday by slipping in the snow and falling on my arse. Oh my! I should have seen that coming. Not enough coffee. Or too much potion the night before. Be very careful out there my dear, dear irregulars! The snow can get you in more ways than one. Someone please remind me why I’m still living here . . .

How about that Super Duper Bowl on Sunday? The New Orleans Saints have won their very first one. I did see that coming. Especially after their owner, Mr. Benson, contacted me about making sure that they win. Ahem. A woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do to keep body and soul together. Besides, the Saints deserved it, right?

There were no Super Bowl ads in the inbox this week, my dears.

For some reason, my mind is snowbound. Yes, it’s obvious that we’ve had a winter storm, but I can think of almost nothing else. And I don’t even have that big of a stake in it, other than my sore rump. I don’t have to shovel or plow the stuff. I can easily wait until the roads and other areas are cleared. In fact, I slept yesterday like I haven’t in years. After that, I chatted with neighbors. It was kind of nice, the way the snow slows things down.

So how did you spend your snow day? Were you off from work or did you battle the elements to get there and back? How was it? Are you off today? Please tell us do.

Meanwhile, here are some famous faces and voices from the previous generation in a scene from the movie White Christmas. Oh my, they are actually looking forward to snow. How Hollywood glamorizes everything!



Thank you for reading my blog this week. I love all of you and want you, again, to be careful in the snow today. If you have elderly or disabled neighbors, perhaps you could look in on them and make sure that they’re all right. Please forgive other drivers who are idiots in the snow, for they know not what they are doing. Be extra careful around plows and say a prayer of thanks for all of the city, county, state, and utility employees out there doing their jobs.

Please forward your belated Christmas lists and letters to Santa to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

I love chatting with you. I’ll talk to you again next week, my dears. Right now, I have to go soak my rear. Telefunken!

Who's On Stage?

The Superbowl half time show reminded me of this fun old Animaniacs clip. Of course it is set at Woodstock!

Comments made in the year 1955!

Comments made in the year 1955!
That's only 55 years ago!

I'll tell you one thing, if things keep going the way they are, it's going to be impossible to buy a week's groceries for $10.00.

Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won't be long before $1, 000.00 will only buy a used one.'

If cigarettes keep going up in price, I'm going to quit. 20 cents a pack is ridiculous.'

Did you hear the post office is thinking about charging 7 cents just to mail a letter?'

If they raise the minimum wage to $1.00, nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store.'

'When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would someday cost 25 cents a gallon. Guess we'd be better off leaving the car in the garage.'

I'm afraid to send my kids to the movies any more Ever since they let Clark Gable get by with saying DAMN in GONE WITH THE WIND, it seems every new movie has either HELL or DAMN in it.'

I read the other day where some scientist thinks it's possible to put a man on the moon by the end of the century. They even have some fellows they call astronauts preparing for it down in Texas.'

Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $50,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn't surprise me if someday they'll be making more than the President.'

I never thought I'd see the day all our kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now.'

It's too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet.'

It won't be long before young couples are going to have to hire someone to watch their kids so they can both work.'

I'm afraid the Volkswagen car is going to open the door to a whole lot of foreign business.'

Thank goodness I won't live to see the day when the Government takes half our income in taxes. I sometimes wonder if we are electing the best people to government..'
'The drive-in restaurant is convenient in nice weather, but I seriously doubt they will ever catch on.'

'There is no sense going on short trips anymore for a weekend, it costs nearly $2.00 a night to stay in a hotel.'

No one can afford to be sick anymore, at $15.00 a day in the hospital, it's too rich for my blood.'

If they think I'll pay 30 cents for a hair cut, forget it.'

Does He Owe the Colts an Apology?

Not that there's anything wrong with that!

A Day in the Gym...

I go to Gold's Gym here in Tucson...have been ever since I moved here over 4.5 years ago. You see the same people a lot of the time and eventually end up chatting. Some its just casual greetings, others you get to know better and end up hanging out with outside the gym.

Well, there is one woman who falls into the former category. Don't even know here name, but we say hi. She has been going there then entire time I have. She is a bit younger than me. I have always wondered if she was some sort of exotic dancer since she frequently is wearing long fake eyelashes when she works out.

Well, I hadn't seen her for a couple of weeks. Today I saw her again and it looks like she went to Whoville. Her hearts grew three sizes. Yeah, she has two...one on the left and one on the right and they both grew (maybe she's a Time Lord Grinch?)

Prayer for favorites

Dear God,

Last year you have taken away my
favorite dancer Michael Jackson,
favorite actor Patrick Swayze,
favorite actress Farrah Fawcett,
favorite comedian, Dom DeLuise,
favorite pitchman, Billy Mays,
and favorite sidekick, Ed McMahon.

Please don’t forget my favorite
politician is Barack Obama
my favorite Congress woman is Nancy Pelosi
and my favorite senator is Harry Reid.
Amen

Beejay's New Ride

789 Chevy

1957, 1958 & 1959 All Rolled Into One!

It sits on a Corvette C6 chassis, front styled like a 57 Chevy, side like a 58, rear like a 59.

Hence the designation "789."

CBS Super Bowl Coverge: FAIL

I know lots of thing go into broadcasting the Super Bowl. So much of it is carefully scripted and choreographed that you wonder how they miss some things. But no one even mentioned that the coin used for the coin flip flew to the International Space Station aboard Atlantis in November. Remember the game was played in Miami and Florida is the home of the Kennedy Space Center so these things are kind of a big deal locally. Of course the coin did not have the names of the two teams playing etched onto it yet. CBS failed to mention this in their broadcast (at least near the coin flip...if anyone saw it in the several hours of pregame, please let me know!)

I will let you in on a dirty little secret: I played football in high school. In our games, the coin flip took place about 45 minutes or so before kickoff. Now right before kickoff, the refs and team captains would go to the center of the field, the ref would throw a coin up in the air, look at it and everyone would pretend that was the real coin flip. Yep, it was all theater. I don't know if they still do it this way, but I participated in that farce many years ago.

Our coin was just a quarter or something and didn't fly on a space shuttle!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

CARTOON OF THE YEAR

Late Show Super Bowl Ad

"How the Letterman-Oprah-Leno Super Bowl Ad Came Together:" http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/how-the-letterman-oprah-leno-super-bowl-ad-came-together/

Cool, I think.

Day care Centers – The Saga Continues

My hat off to the investigators from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Day cares, parents use kids for profit

$350 million Wisconsin Shares program continues to pour out monies to Wisconsin Thieves! I know there are nicer words to call them, but in reality, they are thieves!

Reading the article on JSOline the bleeding of money appears to be endless.

Everyone has excuses why it is happening but I have a hard time finding the cures to fix the system.

This is my idea on how to fix it. SHUT IT DOWN, at least for one year. Zero dollars pasted out, it is no worse then the family ‘bread winner’ getting laid off!

During the shutdown year, review and correct all the loop holes. Hire a fist full of auditors, which may sound crazy like where is this money going to come from. Well give it a quick thought, money saved from the thieves will more then cover their wages and bennies!

One thing, which needs to be added, is the auditors DO NOT HAVE TO INFORM the Day Care centers when they will be there, they can show up anytime unexpectedly. It is simple, they have to conform or no money and their license is revoked.

Of course the auditors could take as little or as much time as necessary to audit the centers. IF, for some strange reason the auditor is lead astray...off to the poky for him or her, that would be a requirement of the job.

So vote SER for Governor!