Best Movie Lines

Either he's dead or my watch has stopped. (Groucho Marx, "The Cocoanuts", 1929)

Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine. (Humphrey Bogart, "Casablanca", 1942)

Now I know why Tigers eat their young. (Rodney Dangerfield, "Caddyshack", 1980)

Time to face the music, Packer Fans

Face it Packer Fans, Brett doesn’t want YOU anymore. You chanted, cried, and pleaded. You cursed Ted Thompson. You yelled at Mike McCarthy. You hate Aaron Rodgers. For some of you, Brett has been the only QB you have ever known for the Packers. And now Brett says he wants to play, just not for YOU, the Green and Gold faithful.

Brett has a huge heart, and a caring soul, but also an ego the size of his estate in Hattiesburg. He waffles better than Barack Obama. And right now, Brett doesn’t know whether to scratch his watch or wind his butt.

Brett sure knows how to cash in, however. I got this email today from Brett’s official website:

Brett Favre had an unforgettable career with the Green Bay Packers for the last 16 years! We will remember him as a Green Bay Packer and what he has done with the Legendary and Historic franchise of the Green Bay Packers. He has set many major NFL Records including the most career passing yards, most career touchdowns, and most career wins by any quarterback in the history of the NFL. Don't miss out on this chance to own a piece of NFL history. Brett Favre will no longer be playing for the Green Bay Packers and this will be your last chance to get your Brett Favre autographed Green Bay Packers merchandise.
AS BRETT FAVRE MOVES FORWARD WITH HIS CAREER, WE WISH HIM THE BEST, AND HOPE TO ENJOY MANY MORE FOOTBALL GAMES WATCHING HIM PLAY THE GAME WE ALL LOVE SO VERY MUCH!


So Brett says to all of you “Hey, I don’t want to play for you, but here, buy some of my stuff, and by the way, im going to play for someone else.” Don’t get me wrong… if you cut me I bleed Green and Gold, and loved wearing my Favre jersey on Sundays for the last 16 years. But the Franchise got through Lombardi leaving, Bart Starr retiring, and Reggie White playing for someone else. Yes, to me Brett will always be a Packer, but will I watch him play for someone else…….No. You see, the team is not Brett Favre. The team is more than one person. The team is the larger than life institution in our state. A place where the Packers as a team are often referred to as “we” by the Packer Nation. Brett thinks the Packers should be referred to as “I”. I’m tired of he said/he said BS. I’m tired of Chris Mortensen and ESPN. I’m tired of hearing Brett’s Mom, Brother, friend, agent, and lawnmower man on the TV and Radio.

I truly think the Packers are trying to what they think is best for the Team. And I think Brett is trying to do what is best for Brett.

It is time for all of Brett’s “I want to play, I don’t want to play, I’m retired, I’m not retired, I want to play for GB, I don’t want to play for GB” stuff to end. Don’t make the mistake other famous players made by ending their career on another team, losing, getting injured, or just being foolish. Ride off into the sunset, Brett. Come back for the retirement ceremony, and we’ll see you in Canton in five years. Play for someone else, and you will be leaving a bad taste in some fans mouths that will hurt for a while, but we will forgive you……… eventually.

DK's First Pick: JT Irregulars

It's been only a few days since we ran across a relatively new blogger style website called JT IRREGULARS. It was only founded in June of this year and you wouldn't believe the quality of content they have amassed as well as their large following of contributors and visitors. We have established a relationship with JTIRREGULARS in order to network in this seemingly endless blog world in order to bring at least our little corners of the world a little closer.

Their banner states "What is happening in Racine, Wisconsin and around the world Make new friends, share thoughts and ideas, learn something new or just leisurely browse and share a laugh."

They invite all to join their group, and contribute to the posting of pretty much anything and everything. I've read news and politics, a post about the the nuisance of mosquitoes, and complaining about all sorts of things. From straight up serious talk, to all fun and games (even one blogger complaining about their kid's use of toilet paper), this blog is doing it all in short order. (just 2 months!?) JT Irregular regulars have amassed 253 postings with what appears to be about 25 regular contributors.

From their very first blog, is the statement, "All aspects of this site are up for discussion, including the name, template, etc., and especially whether it continues to exist. No private messaging here. Your account, though, allows you to create your own blog separate from this one if you wish, and it will link to your posts here. Your account also works for commenting at the Racine Post. Only 100 "authors" are allowed to create blogs per site. Do we screen people?

Who has the say so? Let's hear ideas. Current settings allow anyone to read and post comments, even anonymously."

From what I can gather from the website, the bloggers here appear to have been cast off, or jumped ship from another, bigger blog. (am I right on this one?) And, whats really unique is that the admin (administrator) calls HERSELF the "Sheriff". How cool is that?

Anyways, my words cannot do this awesome site justice, so check it out for yourself.

JT IRREGULARS

Lisa Loring (Editor) & John Nordquist (Publisher)
The Daily Kenoshan

Article viewable at http://dailykenoshan.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6370&Itemid=1

I'd like to share something

A site/blog that a member of my forum has. She has asked that it gets passed around to as many people as possible to make people aware of the dangers of smoking.
Her husband passed away after a long struggle with oral cancer.
Please take a look, if you know someone who could benefit from a warning, or even just to pass it on.
It was his wish for her to do this. They kept this blog of his last months. It's eye-opening and heart breaking.

Be careful, the pictures she added are VERY graphic. Don't look further than her warning if you don't have a strong stomach.

Please, pass it on.

http://richsplea.synthasite.com/

Thanks.

A Sure Sign of the End Times

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Rarely have I been left so utterly without any coherent comment.

If memory serves me

Ok, I know we discussed a lot of things on Saturday, but does anyone remember this:

http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2008/08/05/local_news/doc489893f233e48435566872.txt

If my memory serves me, neither the Mayor nor the two Aldermen made any mention of this referendum.

Daily Kenoshan is calling all bloggers!

The Daily Kenoshan has been long been a staple for all things Kenosha. Established in 2001 as a community blog, our growth has surprised many, including those of us who have worked so hard to see its success. We are a unique experience, and draw Kenoshan's from all walks of life. We encourage free speech and exchange of ideas. Our community members are encouraged to participate in the submission of news, events, or simply discuss the many topics in our active forums. Our vision is broad, and never restrictive. We have begun to incorporate Business Advertising, and expect this to progress. Our visitor hits remain at a steady rate of upwards of a million plus "hits" monthly, and our regular user base is consistent. More every day citizens are contributing content to our site than ever, and have included web commentary, events promotion, political debates, and stories of interest. We have also recently been featuring sports news and commentary. We are hoping to increase the amount of active participation by inviting Local Bloggers of any type, regardless of group affiliation to join us, and submit stories, articles, or commentary to be published on our site. Our stories are seen hundreds of times daily, and encourage discussion. We would like to publish at least one article per week, from a variety of Blog Sources. We invite you to visit the Daily Kenoshan, and use your opinions and journalistic expertise to educate and enliven our community. The Daily Kenoshan is EVERYONE'S website, and we are hopeful that many of you will take advantage of this opportunity for mutual growth. Please feel free to contact our Staff, Publisher, or Editor with any questions, comments, or suggestions on this project. Thank you for your support.

Lisa Loring
News Editor www.dailykenoshan.com
lisa@dailykenoshan.com


The Daily Kenoshan is a great site! check them out. Here's their blog: http://dailykenoshan.blogspot.com/

I'm an insomniac

I CAN"T FUCKING SLEEP!!!!!!

I think I need a little more of this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzRQyt0aTHA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhiTsLr29XA

Anyone else like Jimmy Buffett?
Went to a couple concerts at Alpine Valley.. one in June that I had to wear my winter coat!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNmULx6sMo4 <>(not the best version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs1vafGhlSk < v="9wFpvRMIIEM">

I'll Come in to Work When Homeland Security Returns My Laptop

Ah, you just got back from a nice vacation, say in France. Or it could be something less fun like a sales trip to Canada (in January). You stroll across the U.S. border and, halt right there! We want to take your laptop, cell phone, iPod, etc. We are going to take them away for a "reasonable period" of time and search them for, well, we don't quite know. We don't need a reasonable suspicion or anything...we just want to. Oh, and it applies to ALL people, including U.S. citizens.

That pretty much sums up our new Homeland Security policy as outlined by an article in the Washington Post (for those who complain about the liberal media, click on the Homeland Security link and you can read their policy for yourself.)

So most people traveling have a cell phone that could be confiscated...do you really want to try and prove right there that all the songs on your iPod were legally downloaded? How about all your companies sales data being taken away and analyzed? Or those "special pictures" of you and your loved one (damn! I thought those were on the other computer!)

With as much digital information as we carry around with us, I can't imagine a more intimate search that does not involve rubber gloves.

Reports are already emerging of companies that have policies on what can be taken on international trips. Probably a good idea for you too. I know that my computer is password protected with an encrypted hard drive...least I can do is make it a pain in the a** for them to do anything!

As usual, it is only the Senators like Russ Feingold who even seem to care. I can't wait until an elected official comes back from a trip and the DHS seizes their comptuer and finds all kinds of evidence of crimes...bet it suddenly becomes quite the matter of privacy then!

These give me the "willies", I can't deal with heights

LUNCH ON THE SKYSCRAPER

ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA’ CIRCA 1930

The photos in this presentation are real. Some of them are historical photographs and were made by Charles Ebbets in the early 1930’s.Most of them depict daily scenes of the workers who participated in the construction of the skyscrapers between 1920 and 1935. As you will see, the safety measures were somewhat peculiar and the photos were done trying to play down that situation.

The photographs were taken in New York, on September 29th 1932, and published in the New York Herald Tribune in the Sunday supplement of the Oct. 2nd of that year. It was taken on the 69 floor of the 70 that is the GE building in the Rockefeller Center

Many of these images comprise the Bettmann file, founded by Otto Bettmann in 1936. It contains a collection of 11 million photographs and includes some of the best historical images of the United States. At the present time the file belongs to the Corbis company, property of Bill Gates.

Welcome to the 1st Monday open blog!!

If my memory holds up, I will try my best to
post one of these every week.

What's on your mind today?

How are you surviving Monday??

Meeting the Mayor

I arrived a little early and was treated to a parking space right in front of Java Vino (ah, life’s little pleasures). I strolled in, got my coffee, and settled in my seat. The Mayor was already engaged in a conversation, but soon said hello to myself and others.

I thought it was really great the way all of us (about 20) jumped right into the issues. The Mayor expressed some frustration with the comments posted regarding his visit to the King center. Bloggers and residents expressed frustration with the escalating crime, especially the drug trade and shootings.

Here is a flavor of some of the more notable quotes from residents and bloggers, strictly as I remember them:

“Punitive action doesn’t work. We need to reach out to these young people”

“If the cops come up on 3 black kids and one white one, the black kids are going to jail”

“Cops show up on a complaint wind up putting the complainant in jail”

“People are standing on the corners dealing drugs. If it is obvious to me, it has to be obvious to the professionals patrolling the streets”

[In response to the Mayor’s ‘Broken Window’ policy] “Every drug dealer standing on the corner is a broken window and a boarded up house”

So, how did it go? Residents and bloggers told their stories, from the “I see drug dealers”, to “Poor police response” to “it is economics”, to “it is education”. I soon got the feeling that people wanted a magic bullet, but, we soon agreed, there is none to be found.

One man (I believe I know who) gave an impassioned plea to the Mayor regarding crime and police response. A woman on the other side of the room had a similar tale. It was unfortunate that the man got worked up, got into a dispute with a woman sitting at his table, got upset and stormed out. I say unfortunate because he had some valid points, but was easily dismissed as a kook.

We continued for quite some time. For each issue brought up, the Mayor outlined an initiative to cover that particular point. When the Mayor finally ran out of time, the meeting ended amiably.

When I went outside, I soon realized that I had lost track of time. Why? I had a parking ticket on my windshield.

I came home, and something nagged at me all day. I couldn’t put my finger on it. People expressed their views, brought up a variety of issues, the Mayor and Aldermen responded in kind, so what was my problem? I couldn’t shake it all day and all night. It finally hit me.

I believe the Mayor and Aldermen are sincere. They truly want what’s best for Racine. They have initiatives in place, and have future initiatives lined up. They are taking some action, but: IT’S NOT WORKING. That simple fact is what’s been bothering me. The broken window initiative, buying up apartment complexes, outreach programs, visits to the King center, etc, etc, etc is having little impact.

What is missing is an assault on the criminals. There were some that dismissed this idea, but one man with a camera around his neck, made, in retrospect, a very eloquent point. He stated that he lived in New York City when Rudy Giuliani [whom he considered a fascist] became Mayor. He expressed admiration that Giuliani first cleaned up the streets, used ordinances to get rid of unsavory businesses, and then brought in economic development. Giuliani changed the face of New York forever.

The Mayor stated that, even if they had more cops on the street, it wouldn't have stopped the last two shootings. That may be true, but because of the current environment, these shooters feel that they can act with impunity.

Maybe that’s the problem here in Racine. First and foremost, we need to rid ourselves of the criminal element. Once they have been tamped down, bulldoze (literally and figuratively) blighted areas, attract businesses [more jobs], then revitalize [Uptown Art District]. The Mayor himself noted that the old library building, currently selling for $180K, would be worth $500K if the neighborhood around it was better.

One attendee also had it right when he stated that fear needs to be removed from the city. That is the real bottom line. As long as there is fear, residents will not cooperate, businesses will not be attracted, tourists will not come, and people will not stay. All the initiatives in the world will fail if there is continued fear. I sincerely hope that our Mayor and Aldermen make every effort to remove that fear.

Two Coffees: $3.75
One Parking Ticket: $11
Getting to sound off to the Mayor: Priceless

I hope to do it again soon, only next time, without the parking ticket.

If you didn't get to the Raiders game this past Saturday night, you missed a helluva show!

I know lately we've been concerned with the crime problem in Racine, as we should. But let's not forget this town has a number of good thing going for it too. Two of them were on display this past Saturday night at Horlick Field. The Racine Raiders played a very competitive game against the Wisconsin Wolfpack in front of 1300+ people. Unfortunately, the hometown team came up on the short end of the score. And another jewel of Racine performed at halftime; The Kilties. These are not the Kilties of old. This was a well formed professional drum and bugle corps with members of all ages. With the precision they performed at, there should have been a separate charge for the half time entertainment because it was well worth it. So keep the faith, not all is lost in the Belle City. Oh did I mention, some of the babes in the stands weren't bad either.

The Mayor Meets the Bloggers

Thank you, Mayor Becker, for meeting with the bloggers this morning at Javavino.

I apologize for the fuzzy picture. I didn't want to distrub the cozy atmosphere with a flash. Guess I should've, anyway.

I also recorded most of the dialog on a voice recorder, but because of the awful acoustics, it is unlistenable. Unfortuanately, the inability to hear the mayor and others, and/or to distinguish their voices from background noise, was a major drawback. I doubt that I heard more than 10% of what was said. I've never been to Javavino before, but I understand that they hold musical events there. With all that brick, hardwood furniture, and hardscape floor, the audience's ears must ring after every performance.

Speaking of audience, I counted 14 people, including the mayor, at the start of the talk. A few more straggled in as it went along, but I doubt that we ever got to more than 20. Mighty poor showing for all of the bluster and bravado barked on the blogs. I met Drew and SER there. I don't know if AvengingAngel made it because I haven't met him before.

My impression of the exchange: same old stuff. The mayor goes on and on with statistics and stories on crime in Racine, but I think he greatly underappreciates the concern of the average citizen regarding it. And, to be blunt, I think that if he doesn't personally experience it, then it doesn't exist for him. When I made points concerning my experiences with the Racine Police Department, he countered with his experiences riding in patrol cars with police. Excuse me, sir, but don't you think that the mayor of the city riding shotgun with the police might make them act a little differently than they normally do? He also talked about driving through troubled areas and talking with residents. Again, that's nice, but you don't live there. Many of us do. And we are FED UP with crime. That point seems lost upon him. Utterly and completely.

As for the constant remarks that more police will not end crime, hello - nothing will end crime. Duh. The best you can do is keep it down. And that's what we're asking for. Again, this seems lost on him. Poverty, disease, injustice, etc., will never be ended, either. So should we give up on fighting those, too? Someone better tell the US government that terrorism will never end, so we might as well surrender now.

Again, thanks for the opportunity, but it just proved to me that Mayor Becker is out of touch with common people in Racine. He's in his element in trendy places like coffeehouses. How nice for him. And too bad for the rest of us.

One more We need some hair on the blog

Hairband. 80's. Kick ass Rock and Roll. Triumph - Magic Power. Nothing more to say.

Bonus Lost Video

Finding last video reminded me of this song, and I heard it for the first time in about 10 years........ Had to post it. It is by John Farnham and it is called "Your the Voice". Enjoy!

Friday's Lost Video

Today's video is from 1987. A new band called The Call released their first single called "Everywhere I Go". They went on to release a couple more albums and still tour every now and then. Great "windows down, sound up" song. Hope you enjoy!

On a side note, I hope you guys like this little weekly thing I do, and hope it jogs your musical memory like it does mine.

HI all Abby made it to the show. Thanks for the invite

I like what I've seen here so far.........

Mayor Becker Invites Journal Times' Bloggers To Meet With Him

Tomorrow, Saturday, at Java Vino, in beautiful downtown Racine, at 10 AM:

http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2008/08/01/local_news/doc4892969e5bd20055400083.txt

The mayor's original post appears in the Journal Times' newsblog about the mayor's meeting with neighborhood residents at the King Center on Wednesday: http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2008/07/31/local_news/doc4891391ee2f26434890638.txt

The text of his message:

Mayor gary becker wrote: July 31, 2008 2:54PM CST

WOW! ! ! The negative tone on this blog is amazing. This was a meeting set up weeks ago to listen to the neighbors about their opinions on a number of issues that will directly impact their area. Not sure where the negativism comes from on something as simple as neighborhood outreach.

I can see some people have some input that I am missing, but I would like to hear from them.

So here is the deal, I will be at Java Vino on Saturday morning at 10:00 AM. I invite any of the bloggers with ideas, comments and criticisms to come out from behind their anonymous keyboards and sit down and talk, face to face, person to person.

Hope to see you on Saturday.

I hope the post is for real and not a troll. :P

Does the invitation extend to "irregular" bloggers?

A First for The Irregulars?

Fellow Irregulars,

I just found out that the Daily Kenoshan has asked permission to reprint my blog concerning McCain's visit. I humbly gave permission. Now, I know we're good, but his may be a milestone.

I'd like to thank the little people that made this possible:

The two idiots in the rubber masks.

The protesters.

Mr. Book of Revelations.

The Hopi and Navajo tribes.

But, most of all, I'd like to thank my grandson, whose attendance and wry comments gave me a different perspective on events.

Birthdays...

Sooo........ My X (shhhhhhh) birthday is coming up this weekend. Not sure when I started to not look forward to my birthdays. Guess I should be happy I'm still here, yes?
Eh... doesn't do much for me anymore. I've never really liked birthdays. The free drinks are nice. :)
But all the fuss.. forget it. it's just another day to remind me I'm getting old.
When I was a kid I remember thinking that I'll never be 30!!!!! Passed that milestone and guess what? I'm still here!
People ask me what do I want for my birthday. I don't really like cake. It kinda grosses me out for some reason.
So.. my wish is to take a trip to stay with my FIL and his wife, up north. Just to get away and because I know he won't be around forever.
Used to be .. have a party! Now, the best time I have is sitting in front of a fire with Dad. My Dad has been dead for many years now, and I never had the relationship with him that I have with my FIL now. He's pretty amazing. 76 years old and I keep him up until 3 in the morning talking and watching fireworks and throwing more wood on the fire.
He loves my dog Minnie and cracks up at her antics in the lake. She loves him too.
When ya get older things mean more to you. I want to go up north for me. But also because Dad enjoys us coming up. My DH works too much to be able to get away very often.
But I'm making sure we do this this weekend.

oh.. and I love going there and looking at the clear skies and all the stars. Last time we were there I saw 3 shooting stars!

Guess I am rambling.

My first blog here... and I sound like an idiot. LOL.

How do YOU celebrate your birthdays?

A Total Eclipse of the Sun (for the early risers)

Friday, August 1st will feature a total eclipse of the Sun. Unfortunately, it is not visible from the the U.S. but we can watch it thanks to webcasts.

Unfortunately, due to the time difference, the eclipse starts at 5:09 am CDT and totality begins at 6:08 CDT if you want to watch the Exploratorium's covervage from China. The Exploratorium in is well known for its eclipse webcasts and you can watch it live online. If you don't want to get up this early, they archive their webcasts so you can watch them at a more reasonable hour! You can even watch the achived footage of previous eclipses.

Solar eclipses occur when the Moon passes directly between the Earth and the Sun. Total eclipses only cover a very small portion of the Earth since the Moon's shadow is pretty small (a maximum of 147 miles for this eclipse). People outside this line can see a partial eclipse, but we don't even get that.

For more info, Astronomy Magazine has a nice article online about the 2008 solar eclipse.

McCain's Racine Visit

I took my grandson to see Sen. McCain today. Besides getting to see two truly great Americans (John and Cindy), he got to see the freakin' nutballs that permeate our society.

It started with the protesters outside Memorial Hall. I noticed that our esteemed Mayor or someone in City administration, allowed the protesters to be situated directly next to the entrance. There were two buffoons prancing around with McCain and Bush rubber masks acting like total idiots. My grandson's only comment: "What jerks.".

Inside, we were treated to one questioner who demanded to know if McCain believed in the absolute truth of the Book of Revelations; that we are living in the "end times". McCain politely expressed how faith has brought him through tough times, but the nutball wouldn't stop asking about Revelations and finally had to be shouted down by the crowd. Grandson comment: "Sheesh. Why doesn't he just shut up?".

There were one or two other what I call "plants", one from McCain's camp and one from Obama's, but most questions were from people like us. I was very happy to see many college aged people attending and asking questions relevent to their situation.

We were finally treated to the last questioner who brought up some esoteric dispute between the Navajo and Hopi indian tribes. Nothing like closing out with a solid nutcase.

The biggest reactions were in response to the McCain's stance on Energy, the War, and Obama's tax plans.

All in all, a very interesting town hall.

Update: Here's JT's take on the Revelation nutball. Interesting how they describe the question as "about religion".

One man in the balcony asked McCain about religion. McCain responded by saying he believed in an America founded as Judeo-Christian. The man asked McCain to answer his question better and the audience yelled for him to get off the mike. Audience members cheered when a volunteer finally took it from him. The man continued to yell from the balcony and others in attendance yelled for him to sit down, which he finally did.

I'm Glad My Mother is Dead

This isn't as insensitive as it may sound. My mother was a die hard Cubs fan, and with the possibility of them sweeping the series over the Brewers, I would be getting the persistent reminder of how many games the Cubs have taken. She also would have called me after every inning giving me an "update", even she would have known damn well I was watching the game too.

Ten Years Gone

Here's a video from one of my favorite bands, Led Zeppelin.

Led Zeppelin is an exciting band to listen to, whether in the studio or live in concert. They are known to stretch their songs out to unbelievable lengths. This song here can be found on their Physical Graffiti LP.

Now, I present to you, live from Knebworth Festival, Stevenage, England, August 4,1979 -Ten Years Gone.

OPEN BLOG!!!

HEY GUYS!!!!!

I don't know if we've had an open blog here yet,
so here it is -

What's on your mind??

What are you up to this week??

What projects are you working on??
(I need motivation again!!)

Twin Baby Moose in Sprinkler

That's all, just "Twin Baby Moose in Sprinkler."

Have a nice day.

Astrologer Didn't See This One Coming...

Didn't the charts for ANYONE'S sign tell them the ground would shake or something like that?

Happy 50th NASA!

On July 29th, 1958, NASA was established with the passage of the National Aeronautics and Space Act. From its humble beginnings, less than 11 years later, it put the first men on the Moon.

I have mixed feelings about NASA (as does everyone I talk to in my circles). NASA has done a lot of great things: the Moon landings and Hubble are two very high profile projects. But we have to remember the strength of the unmanned program as well including Voyagers, Pioneers, Mariners, Viking, the Mars rovers, Galileo, Cassini, Swift, GLAST, Chandra, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope to name a few.

The Space Shuttle is a real mixed bag. It was very overpromised and underfunded in its design phase and lots of compromises were made. Same thing with the International Space Station. Both had so much more potential but politics and funding held them back. These high profile manned projects have an ongoing conflict with unmanned projects that produce more science per dollar.

Many people criticize NASA for how much it spends without realizing how small its budget is in reality. NASA receives less than 1% of the federal budget. Many people are surprised it is that low.

As we begin the next 50 years, NASA is preparing to retire the shuttle and shoot for the Moon again. There will be several years between the end of the shuttle program and our new rockets being ready to fly. We will have to rely on other nations to supply the ISS and ferry astronauts back and forth. NASA has been asked to go to the Moon and given little extra money to do it. Science could suffer if things do not improve.

At some point, I believe NASA has a chance at a second set of glory days, but its going to take another Sputnik like event, most likely the Chinese beating us back to the Moon. Then we may decide leadership in space is important again.

So Happy Birthday NASA and good luck!

How hard can it be?

It seems that our hometown newspaper's online edition has once again run afoul technically.

All of the comments are showing up on the wrong stories. I have to admit, it's pretty funny.

How hard can it be to maintain a website? This one is always flawless.

White Knight II Unveiled

Richard Branson's company Scaled Composites unveiled White Knight 2. The first of the craft has been named "Eve".

This strange looking craft is part of his space tourism business. You attach a smaller rocket powered craft (still being built) called Spacehip 2 underneath the wing. White Knight Carries Spaceship 2 up to about 50,000 feet. Spaceship 2 is dropped off and ignites its rockets to go on its suboribital flight to space, reaching an altitude of over 60 miles and giving about five minutes of weightlessness.

Their publicity claims this is the largest carbon fiber aircraft, important to make it strong and light. Trips start at $200k and they claim 250 bookings so far.

Well, looks like I picked the wrong line of work if I want $200k to drop on a spaceflight!

Would you help out a Cubs fan?

With the Cubs playing in Milwaukee this week, it brings back a nightmare from last year. The first series the Cubs played at Miller Park, my seat was surround by the most obnoxious, PIAs, gold coast Cubs fans from Chicago. I was ready to tell them I had Leprosy or the plague hoping they would go away. At the end of the game, one of the jerks didn't want to go through the Marquette construction, so he had the gonads to ask me for directions around it. The route I gave him would eventually take him to Madison, if he didn't get lost around 6th and Mitchell in Milwaukee. I was laughing inside when he said "Thanks". Just doin' my part to help a fellow sports fan from the Windy.

Who or What is getting the most press nowadays?

Well, we were told to blog........

With all that is happening lately, who or what do you think is getting the most news coverage. Pick from the menu or insert your own.
1) Brewers
2) McCain
3) Obama
4) Shooting in Racine
5) Packers/Brett Farve/Ted Thompson
6) All of the above
7) None of the above
8) I abstain

Fridays lost video, Sunday version

Sorry guys. I had the week from hell, and has really limited my posting. Sorry for being tardy.

Todays video is from 1987. I was piss drunk in my friends car when he said you have got to hear this band. The band was Marillion and the first song I heard from them is this one. It's called Kayleigh. Enjoy.

More Murder in Racine

"Another murder, this time on 8th Street"

http://news.racinepost.com/2008/07/another-murder-this-time-on-8th-street.html

Not too far from me. Surprised I didn't hear the gunshots. I usually do. Surprised I'm writing this. If you had told me 40 years ago that today I'd be living in Racine and regularly listening to gunshots at night and reading about the results the next morning, I would've scoffed. It's a nightmare, Mayor Becker, a real life nightmare that we're sick of living.

I drove through downtown yesterday. I do that everyday. There were plenty of people out enjoying the sunshine and partying on Monopoly Square. All white, all well-to-do. That's wonderful - for them. What about the rest of us, Mayor Becker?

And before anyone asks, "What would you do?" two things:

1) I'm not the mayor or the police chief. I didn't run for the job. I didn't present myself as qualified for the position nor did I seek it. When I take my auto to a mechanic to have it repaired, I do not expect him to ask me how to fix it. He is the mechanic. That is his job.

2) If it were up to me, I would issue communications and protective gear to block captains or whatever representatives the neighborhoods elect to truly represent them. We'll arm ourselves. Let us patrol our own hoods. We're sick of waiting 45 minutes for the police to show up. We're sick of judges who release the animals back into our neighborhoods and homes over and over again. We're sick of people who don't live here and don't give a damn telling us what our problems are. We're sick of swimming in blood and fear while Becker's constituency parties, parties, and parties downtown. The decadence is staggering, in more ways than one.

All Becker needs now is a violin to play while the city located outside of downtown burns behind him.

Sunday's Lost Video

Stu must be asleep at the wheel this week, so here's a nugget from prehistory:



The drummer looks like Cousin It from the Addams Family.

Remember, there ain't no cure for the summertime blues!

Jokes

Been some time since we have heard from LizardMom and SER with some jokes...maybe it is time. I leave on Monday and will need a lot of humor to get me back to Florida via the route I am taking!

So start them now and keep 'em coming...I will check in on-line during my trek south!

Hope We Don't Have Any British Readers...

Because anyone who feels that they have been defamed by anything any of us write here can sue us in British Court if a SINGLE PERSON in Britain views the post. Yep, and it gets even worse. In British law, it is up to the poster to prove the allegations are true. They court assumes you are viciously lying unless you can prove otherwise. And they can go after ISPs as well who might be inclined to just remove material rather than fight a lawsuit.

Fortunately, a couple of Senators (Lieberman and Specter) filed a bill to protect US citizens.

So, KK, how many British visitors do we get here?

Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)

Eric Idle is at it again...after the rousing success on Broadway of Spamalot, he has now been redoing the Life Of Bryan as an oratorio. Yep, the one that some said is blasphemous about a guy named Bryan born next door to Jesus and ends up mistaken for the Messiah.

It has been around for a while and evolving. They had a fun interview with Eric Idle today on All Things Considered...you can listen to it streaming for free. He says it is not coming to Broadway, but I already want to see it...or better yet, perform in it!

A Modest Proposal to Reduce Crime in Racine

Simple: change the definition of Racine. "Racine" will now be known as that area bounded by the Main Street bridge on the north, 8th Street on the south, City Hall on the west, and the lakefront on the east. In other words, "Racine" will now encompass only that area known as "downtown" previously. This area is beautiful, upscale, and relatively crime-free. And it is obviously what the mayor is referring to whenever he mentions "Racine."

Everything outside of this area will now be known as "Racineville," a troubled area with high crime, high unemployment, and low hopes. Unfortunately, the City of Racine cannot do much to help it's stepsister city, Racineville. Residents of Racineville are on their own when it comes to police protection and other city services. If only the residents of Racineville would embrace the arts and put on airs like the people of Racine proper, then they might see some relief from the urban decay that engulfs them. Too bad, Racineville, but you're not pretentious enough to live safely. You just work for a living and try to raise your children to the best of your ability. Hah! Take a shower and visit Racine sometime to see how the other half lives.

Do You Go to the County Fair?

http://www.racinecountyfair.com/

Here's the "Fair Cam," with images updated every ten seconds: http://www.racinecountyfair.com/faircam.html

I was born and raised in Racine, and have lived here most of my adult life, but I've never been to the County Fair. I've been to the State Fair a number of times. I even went to the old Kraut Festival in Franksville a few times.

So, what's it like? I imagine it's a good deal for families, with something for the kids and the adults. The biggest draw for me probably would be the food and demolition derbies. Nothing like watching cars smash-'em-up on a gut full of brats and cream puffs. Woo-hoo!

Interesting email re: Obama

I can not vouch for the authenticity of this, but the person I got it from has a son in Iraq currently. I checked snopes for this and they have nothing yet.... Interesting if it is true. I am not printing the name of the solder who sent it.



---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Hello everyone,
As you know I am not a very political person. I just wanted to pass along that Senator Obama came to Bagram Afghanistan for about an hour on his visit to "The War Zone". I wanted to share with you what happened.
He got off the plane and got into a bullet proof vehicle, got to the area to meet with the Major General (2 Star) who is the commander here at Bagram.

As the Soldiers where lined up to shake his hand he blew them off and didn't say a word as he went into the conference room to meet the General. As he finished, the vehicles took him to the ClamShell (pretty much a big top tent that military personnel can play basketball or work out in with weights) so he could take his publicity pictures playing basketball. He again shunned the opportunity to talk to Soldiers to thank them for their service.

So really he was just here to make a showing for the American's back home that he is their candidate for President. I think that if you are going to make an effort to come all the way over here you would thank those that are providing the freedom that they are providing for you.

I swear we got more thanks from the NBA Basketball Players or the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders than from one of the Senators, who wants to be the President of the United States. I just don't understand how anyone would want him to be our Commander-and-Chief. It was almost that he was scared to be around those that provide the freedom for him and our great country.

If this is blunt and to the point I am sorry but I wanted you all to know what kind of caliber of person he really is. What you see in the news is all fake.

In service,
**********************
Battle Captain
TF Wasatch
American Soldier

How do you handle friendships that die?

How do you handle friendships that die?
I have a friend - REALLY!! that is going thru a tough time
with a friend, she feels the friendship has died.
They have 8 more months on their apartment lease, and
the time isn't going fast enough.

They used to be very close, but things changed
after a promotion of one over the other,
and after a traumatic occurance that they each handled VERY differently.
I don't like to see them go thru this but there seems little
hope of restoring the friendship they had.

I work with them both and will not take sides at work, or at all.
I like them both, will listen to their rantings of each other, and yet
try to stay neutral, which isn't easy!
So far, I haven't been able to be of much insight in helping :(

I've had a couple friendships fade into oblivion, but it always leaves
an empty spot, and it's not a happy place.

How do you handle things like this?

Celine Dion and Neil Diamond Will Shut Down Gitmo?

We have all heard about the controversial camp at Guantanamo and debated whether having water poured down your lungs is torture or just a "dunk in the water".

It turns out that there is a force even stronger than the ACLU and more powerful than the Supreme Court that could put an end to the madness: ASCAP. Yep, the Copywrite Nazis in the recording industry have the power! The problem is that they blast music at the prisoners to try and get them to confess. Everyone knows that this constitutes a public performance and the composers are owed money. Ever wonder why they don't sing "Happy Birthday" to you at your favorite restaurant when they bring you your cake? Yep, ASCAP! And we know that since ASCAP is a bunch of liberal entertainment moguls who want to destroy America, they would love to siphon money from our military using a slogan such as "Royalties, not Bombs!" (Okay, we may need to work on that one).

So who is really winning the War on Terror? Celine Dion, Billy Ray Cyrus, and the composer of the Chicken Dance.

As for me, I just recorded a few choice numbers with Garage Band and sent them to the Pentagon brass with my royalty rates...guaranteed confession or your money back!

"City administrator accused of harassment"

http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2008/07/21/local_news/doc488540c04bf69493196434.txt


Wow. I don't know what else to say. I don't know anything about any of it, so it's kind of like gawking at a traffic accident. Morbid curiosity. I wonder how this will play out?

Wanna Laugh?

I can't watch that without laughing. Maybe you've seen it before. It won the 2007 YouTube Video Award for “Most Adorable.” It was even used in a commercial, which you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXIfU-87TZo

I stumbled upon the clip earlier today. I'm still smiling.

Nursing home HELL

Hey gang. I'm doing rehab at a private nursing home in south Keno. I had to have ATT turn on(?) a phone line to the room, then access my
RR account through dial up. I seem to be the only normal person here, but because I'm deaf, I keep getting treated like the aged and mentally infirm. Even so, I'm being treated better here than St. Mary's. I'll never again use that place for anything.

Chest pain is becoming manageable, strength is returning. Docs have me on a weight limit. How can anyone regain strength if they can't lift more than 7 pounds? I'm feircly independant and PT is in cahoots with me. SHHHHH

One flew over the Coocoo's nest comes to mind. I even have a nurse Kratchet. Food miserably sucks here. Got my old dorm fridge in the room and it is well stocked. Not going hungry, but eating very little of their food. I'm sure there are better nursing/rehab places available, just All St's didn't offer any up, and familyn didn't know we could name our own choices besides what All St's loaded on me.

Oh well, anyhow, I'm alive and 18 ndays post op. Health/strength wise, things are looking up. Thanks for the concerns and well wishes

A Scary Glimpse of the Near Future...

From the musically talented group at Jib Jab of course.

Send a JibJab Sendables® eCard Today!

My favorite part is that you can insert yourself into the video by uploading your picture...not sure I want to show myself being abused like that!

How Gullible Are People?

This is a short interesting video by Penn & Teller talking about banning water!

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/013117.html

The Pie

Okay, here is the recipe.....
Key Lime Coconut Pie
(if using fresh limes, you will need about four juicy limes to produce 1/2 C of juice)

1 Can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
4 egg yolks
1/2 C lime juice (either Key Lime or plain old lime will do)
1 tsp grated lime zest
1 prepared graham cracker crust
1 C heavy cream
2 T sugar
1/4 tsp imitation coconut extract
3 T sweetened flaked coconut
Lime slices (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. In a bowl wisk together the egg yolks and sweetened condensed milk. Slowly stir in the lime juice and lime zest. Pour filling into crust. Bake 15 minutes or until filling is set. Cool completely and rack.

Beat cream, surgar, and extract until still peaks form. Spread or pipe over pie...sprinkle with the coconut. If desired garnish with lime slices. Chill until serving.

I froze the pies and just put the whipped cream mixture on at the last minute.

I am so glad you enjoyed it KK!