The Journey to Palomar

You will have to check your local listings...this week a special called the Journey to Palomar premieres on PBS. It chronicles the quest of George Ellery Hale to build the world's largest telescope. And he did...four times! His telescopes include the Yerkes 40 inch refractor, the Mount Wilson 60 inch and 100 inch reflectors, and his namesake, the Hale 200 inch reflector at Mount Palomar.

The 200 inch (5 meter) Hale Telescope was the largest in the world for almost 30 years. As a child, it captured my imagination and I couldn't think of a better job in the world than sitting in the observing cage all night long every night (I know...kids have some crazy ideas about good jobs!)

Thanks to modern cameras and upgrades, the Hale Telescope remains a productive scientific instrument 60 years after its completion.

The Hale Telescope also inspired me to ask questions. Namely, why haven't we built a larger telescope in the last 30 years? As I explored the answer to that question, I started getting my first lessons in engineering and the limitations of technology at the time. Over the next thirty years, I have watched how we have overcome many of those limitations and we are now planning telescopes 30 meters across and more! These innovations include spun cast, low weight mirrors, segmented mirrors, advanced CCD cameras, and adaptive optics to remove atmospheric distortion.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Good Night, Sweet Phoenix

The Phoenix Mars Lander mission has come to an end. The setting Sun is no longer high enough in the sky to for the solar panels to collect enough energy to keep Phoenix going. Phoenix has not been heard from since November 2nd. Although they will listen for potential signals for the next few weeks, no one really expects to hear anything. Soon the lander will be covered with snow and its solar panels will probably snap off, ending any chance of hearing from it in the spring.

Phoenix found the water ice it was designed to search for, analyzed the soil of Mars finding perchlorate salt in the soil, and even observed snow falling!

Although the data collection is officially at an end, the data analysis is just getting under way. Scientists will be analyzing and debating the data sent back for years to come and use the results in designing future exploration of Mars.

Next up, the Mars Science Laboratory scheduled to launch in the fall 0f 2009.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicst Blog.

Hope no one got our license plate

Rueters:
Dateline: Liechtenstein


In a scene reminisient of the movie "Apocalypse Now", this peaceful alpine hamlet was the scene of a bizarre invasion that caused thousands of deutschmarks in damages and left a population shaken.

Early in the morning of November 8th, with music blaring from its speakers, an amphibious light amoured vehicle rumbled through the cobblestone streets of Vaduz. Hans Gruber, the local baker, described the scene:

It came speeding down Lettsrasse, paused, then made a left turn onto Bangarten. It began careening back and forth smashing into storefronts. If you didn't know it was a precision military manuver, you would think some drunken reveler was behind the wheel. It suddenly stopped, took dead aim at the Beerhaus, and accelerated through the window. A bunch of them then jumped out and began looting the stores. It was truly frightening.

Government officials confirmed the loss of 673 pounds of chocolate, six barrels of beer, 50 pounds of cheese and one cuckoo clock. Since Leichtenstein has no standing army, the government speculates that this was an irregular militia group from either Germany or Italy. The matter has been referred to interpol for investigation.

Luke Intuit, Rueters News Service

Favorite TV shows (and GOOD reasons to procrastinate!)

I want to grow up to be JUST like Maxine!

Happy Monday all,
here is a twist on the Monday OPEN BLOG,

it's a
"what are your favorite shows"
and
"what is your favorite ways to procrastinate?"
BLOG!!

Google Does it Again

This is nationwide and it is absolutely free! Click on the link below and watch the short clip for a quick demonstration.



“GOOG-411”

Your Monday Morning Physics Lesson...

My friend Kevin just sent me the following video.

Chock Full Of Shopping Carts @ Yahoo! Video

You might remember Newton's First Law, something about inertia...objects at rest staying at rest? Very nicely illustrated here and a good way to kick off the week!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

AIG Bailout Jumps to $150 Billion

That's right. The insurance group that threw a $440,000 party for its executives after we gave them $85 billion in September has posted a third-quarter loss of $24.5 billion. They're being rewarded with a reworked bailout of $150 billion of tax money. W00t! I wonder how big a party they'll throw this time? I wonder if any taxpayers will be invited? I wonder why we pretend that hard work and honesty are the paths to success?

To My Dear JTI Friends,

Somewhat embarrassing to admit, but Christmas is tight this year. I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts. Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below.

How to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads:

You need four maxi pads to make a pair.

Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part.

The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top.

Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part.

Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most aesthetically appealing), etc.

These slippers are:

Soft and Hygienic

Non-slip grip strips on the soles

Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh

No more bending over to mop up spills

Disposable and biodegradable

Environmentally safe

Three convenient sizes: (1.) Regular, (2.) Light and (3.) Get out the Sand Bags.

.

I've attached a photo of the first pair I made so that you can see the nifty slippers for yourself....

.

Awaiting your response. It's crucial that I get the right size for each one of you.

.

.

Pork Truly Won This Election...

Trouncing another fatty food, Fries.
I honestly thought this was a joke made with one of those sign generators until I looked it up and the Denver Post website confirms the elections was between Bacon and Fries.

'Corpse flower' Webcam

The Milwaukee Public Museum's corpse flower is about to blossom. When it does, they say that the stink can travel for miles. I wonder if we'll be able to smell it in Racine?

"Watch from home and avoid the stench:" http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/33590989.html

Obama Win Causes Obsessed Backers To See How Empty Their Lives Are

From The Onion, America's Finest News Source.

I Thought There Were More Fire Trucks Racing Around Today...

Must be due to the fact that is is National Men Make Dinner Day. And direct from the web site are the Top 10 Reasons to Participate.

10. While cooking, you can still wear your tool belt, simply replace the hammer with a whisk.
9. Several recipes include beer as a legitimate ingredient.
8. The blender, the electric mixer and the food processor are loud enough to drown out anyone in the house who is learning a musical instrument.
7. Whoever is cooking always gets the most attention from the dog.
6. Whatever recipe you choose, you can name it after yourself. Example: tonight’s dinner is called ‘Doug’s Surprise’.
5. Discovering that ‘250 ml’ is the same as ‘8 ounces’ AND ‘1 cup’ is half the fun.
4. Since YOU choose the recipe, it can be a turnip-free night.
3. Some desserts, such as crème brulee, require the use of a propane torch. How much fun is that?!
2. Since other husbands in your neighbourhood are also cooking dinner, ironically this could be the ultimate male bonding experience
1. Participating in ‘National Men Make Dinner Day’ gives you optimum points with your wife. Use those points wisely!

Personally, I would do liquid nitrogen ice cream for dessert!

Our first black President, the 40th

Lost video How I feel about the election

Some Cool Artwork

SER's blog on Don Marco has me inspired for another blog. My mom has the artwork of Bev Doolittle on hung up on her walls. I like her artwork for the fact they are pictures within pictures-camouflaged! Here's a sample of her artwork.

The Battle of Evermore

Seeing that we are on the JTI Bus Tour Across Europe,I was wondering to what places that we are going to. I've always wanted to go England and Ireland to see the rolling green hills,the castles,and learn more about the medieval culture. Always been interested in the swords,the dragons,and the magic within. Movies and books like The Lord of the Rings and Braveheart have captured my imagination. I often find myself daydreaming about a swordfight with an orc.

This song has been in my head for the last couple of days. Led Zeppelin's The Battle of Evermore.This song can be found on their classic untitled 4th album. Note the Lord of the Ring references.Enjoy!

GO FILL UP!!

I just got a phone call from a friend in Iowa,
he just heard on the radio that gas in
either North or South Dakota jumped from
$1.98 a gallon to just over $3.
(I can never keep my Dakota's straight..)
He called to warn me it would probably happen here
in the near future, I said I would pass it on,
for whatever it's worth.
I'm filling up just to be safe!

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my friends! Good to be communing with you again. May the gods of providence trickle down their golden shower of opportunities upon us all.

The elections are over and the results are exactly as I predicted. Now is a good time for all Americans to set aside their differences and do what we do best: make money. Let’s get over this financial mountain (or tunnel through it) and back on the path to prosperity.

We were short on submissions this week. I assume that everyone was out campaigning. There was only one email, from Mr. AvengingAngel, who wrote:

Can Ben Dover really see Uranus?

Dear Mr. AA, considering that his head spends most of it’s time where the sun doesn’t shine, I’m not surprised by anything that he sees.

In lieu of more correspondence from the masses, I give you the following videos. The first one is "Make Me Psychic:"



If you like that, dearies, you can check out more Sally Cruikshank Films on the laughingsal page.

And here’s a video about one of my dear old friends. She was a mentor to me, and a trusted adviser to thousands. May I present, Miss Cleo:



While Miss Cleo may have faded, Madame Zoltar is in the ascendency. Be sure to send your questions and comments to me at madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com for an incisive look beyond the veil of everyday reality.

Toodle loo, my friends.

Thoughts on the Election...

Well, I am going to step into it and post a few thoughts for discussion.

First, I am kind of surprised...I mean, don't Democrats find a way to screw things like this up?

Now to the serious part. McCain's concession speech was one of the best I have seen him give. If he campaigned like that, he might have had a different outcome (and if he hadn't pandered to the far right with his VP pick). After a campaign that got nasty at times, it was good to see the decent man I saw running in 2000 (and still think we would have been a lot better off if he won the Republican nomination then...he probably would have won by a much wider margin over Gore IMHO). Although I like that Obama won, I do have empathy for McCain. He worked hard for a long time for this and it has to be tough to come so close.

So Obama won and boy is there a lot of work to do. Yeah, I voted for him in the end (after seriously considering third party candidates to show that I really wasn't totally enthralled with either of them). Here are a few things I hope he does...

First, he says he wants to work across party lines and one of the best first steps is to make sure there is a Republican or two in his Cabinet. Probably a moderate Republican (although I am sure some conservatives would complain that he just appointed a RINO). A Colin Powell could be a good choice for a couple of posts. Lincolen Chaffee is another possibility. I am sure there are other good choices as well and hopefully he can find one or two he can work with.

Second, he need to get control of Pelosi! She has some good qualities but seems to have spent most of the last two years more intent on punishing Repulbicans for what they did when they were in charge than in running a productive Congress. Under a Repubican administration, she seemed to see herself as the big dog of the Democratic party. Obama needs to get her in line (Harry Reid is guilty as well, although to a lesser extent).

Thrid, he needs to run a more open administration. The Clinton health care initiative and the famous Bush Energy task force were both hindered rather than helped by the secrecy that surrounded them. It's the people's business and we should be in on it. I know the argument is that people won't give candid advice if it's public, but unless its a true national security issue, they should have the cojones to go on the record if their advice is so hot.

The last one I am going to state (for now...believe me I could go on, but it's getting late) is don't let the majority go to their heads. Take a little time to be sure the bills really are well written and in the best interest of the country. That might even include an occasional Republican idea in there. Try it...they might not filabuster everything in the Senate (assuming the Democrats do not reach 60...some races are still to be decided as I write this).

So those are just my first thougths. There are a lot of important issues to be dealt with both at home and abroad. The celebration can't last too long. I look forward to his first appointments to see which direction he is going.

Voting machine problems reported on East Coast, in Midwest

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-votingproblems5-2008nov05,0,2933241.story

They predicted this, too.

How is it that we put a rover on Mars that takes commands from 120,000,000 miles away, but we cannot invent a machine that reliably and effectively counts votes?

I might have a pocket calculator that I can lend to election officials.

Vote Obama? No Candy For You!

I think all but the most insane McCain supporters would distance themselves from this woman...denying Halloween candy to children of people who were voting for Obama! Hopefully, only one person has gone this insane! I almost thought this was a joke until the Detroit Free Press carried the story.

Pre-Election Night Lost Video

"Lost" because I just discovered it today. The Coral doing "Dreaming of You."

Their website is http://thecoral.co.uk/.

My Mr. Bond...What a Large...Telescope You Have!

That globe trotting spy, James Bond, is back in a new movie called Quantum of Solace. One of the locations he visits in this movie is the Very Large Telescope (VLT) located in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

The VLT consists of four 8.2 meter telescopes. The telescopes can operate independently or they can combine the light from them to get the light gathering power of a single 16 meter telescope. Several smaller telescopes can be added to the mix to give the resolution of a single telescope 200 meters across!

This is not the first time as observatory has been used in a Bond film. Arecibo Observatory, a large radio telescope, was seen in the movie Goldeneye.

I have never been to the VLT and am looking forward to seeing it on the big screen.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Weird Finger Game

"Tuttuki Bako is a new video game where a player interacts with the device by sticking their finger in a hole. Your finger then appears on the LCD screen, and you can make contact with the characters in the game."

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/283718.html

Silly song, no video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt5LPFKLqgE

The Sky Tonight: The Moon and Venus

Tonight I managed to get out and snap a couple of pics.
Venus is to the right of the Moon. You can even see a little Earthshine on the Moon if you look closely. Earthshine illuminates the dark part of the Moon. It is light that is reflected from the Earth and then bounces off the Moon.

I took a wide shot as well.

Look to the upper left of the Moon and you see Jupiter. Jupiter and Venus are converging for a very close encounter coming up in a few weeks. On the evening of December 1st, Venus, the Moon and Jupiter will all be very close together. Be sure to mark you calendar for that!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Letting It All Hang Out For Democracy

Well, this might actually be able to keep me away from the polls (in more ways than one!) or at least get me to vote absentee. The Caliente Resort near Land 'O Lakes, Florida wants a nude polling place. Pasco county is a hotspot for nudists in Florida...according to the article, there are an estimated 12,000 nudists there.

Any decision has been put off until after 2010, but it looks like nude voting is legal in Florida if the county gives the go ahead.

I don't need to know how excited you are for your candidate or to see whose polls are rising!

Something to Ponder

I went to a college football game this past Saturday. As the band was marching in, the PA came to life with "Please stand up and remove your hats for the playing of our national anthem." And likewise everyone stood up and the men removed their hat except for an older guy a few rows down from me. From the back, I heard someone yell "Take off your hat!" He wait for a response, then yelled it again "Take off your hat!" The old guy just stood facing the field, watching the band march on. I could hear the guy behind me say to his friend "Stupid old fart won't take off his hat." As the band began the Star Spangled Banner, the old guy raised his right hand to the brim of his hat, and there it remained, shaking until the song was over. Then as everyone sat down, he turned around and looked down at where he was going to sit. On the front of his hat was embroidered: "U.S. Army Vet Korean War".
At this point, I really don't give a shit who you vote for, or if you are going to do it legally or illegally, or even if you vote at all. But remember this, there are many, young, old, men, women, alive and dead who spent part of their lives in hell to allow you to make that decision.

Daylight Savings Time Screw Up Arizona Too!

Some people think I am lucky that Arizona does not observe daylight savings time and we don't have to change our clocks. Well, adjusting to the rest of the country is still a pain.

First, a lot of electronic devices automatically adjust for daylight savings time now. I have to go around twice a year and un-adjust the clocks!

Then there is television. NFL early games had been starting at 10:00am...starting tomorrow, they begin at 11:00am. Regular prime time network schedules do not change. However, I get the east coast feed on my Directv so ALL cable shows suddenly have their start time moved an hour later! Fortunately, the DVR records at the new times, so I only have to worry about shows I might watch live.

Finally, I have to remember the change when I call friends and families in other time zones.

So set your clocks back tonight, but don't envy us Arizonans!

Recovered drawings from Lizardmom’s BIG bus trip.

Earlier you may have read the KKdither mentioned she made a drawing but was trying to blame the bus driving for her drawing not looking too good. Actually this is what she said and I quote, “You should have seen mine. The bus was swerving, not my fault they weren't as good.”

Well...unbeknown to her I snagged up her drawings when we where cleaning the bus! I thought now would be a good time to share them with the rest of the group!

What happened to Halloween?

I had less than 20 kids come to my door. Mostly tots with parents. My block with about 22 homes (has culdesac in middle) had about six, just six houses with porch lights on. Here I sit with $.75 size bags of M&M peanuts. Sam's had a sale and I bought a 48 count box thinking they'd evaporate. You know, big treats for kids, tiny treats for thugs. Not a single kid over 12, and only two of those. Now I'm stuck with mini Snickers too. Bah, they worry about Xmas, and All Hallows Eve gets shoved aside.

Yogi Berra-isms

Whats a Yoggi Berra-ism? You've seen that insurance commercial with the duck when Yogi is in the barber's chair and he says "And they give you cash, which is just as good as money."
If you heard any others, or have some of your own, here's the place to share them. Here's a couple to start:
"Things will get better if they don't get worse first."
"If you're going to count your chickens before they hatch, you'd better count the eggs too."
An yours is......

A Trick or Treat Treat: The Moon and Venus

NASA just put out a press release about the Moon and Venus in the western sky after sunset. The Moon will be slightly below Venus tonight, next to it tomorrow night, and between Venus and Jupiter Sunday night. No telescope needed as the Moon, Venus and Jupiter are the three brightest things out there after sunset. You do have to look fairly soon after sunset because they will set fairly quickly (the Moon sets at 7:00pm in Racine tonight). Next month, things get really cool when Venus, Jupiter and the Moon all have a really close gathering December 1st (don't worry...I will post a reminder!)

However, knowing weather in Wisconsin, I would check them out tonight since the forecast is for clear skies!

It's beginning to look a lot like Festivus

The Racine Post has a great story and photographs here on downtown Racine's holiday (don't say the C-word!) tree going up yesterday. I happened to see it arrive when I was at the Post Office. Of course, it got me to thinking more about Festivus, for the rest of us. Who do we see about erecting a Festivus Pole on Monument Square this year? Do we need a permit to perform the customary Feats of Strength and Airing of Grievances on December 23? What about the holiday parade? I have a small trailer - we can put a Festivus Pole on it, put some JTI banners on the side, and show Racine how Irregulars celebrate the holiday. I think this is a great idea - as long as someone else does all the work. Happy Festivus to all!

Just for grins - I had to check Google

JT IRREGULARS
The Master Crayola Artist. Don Marco was born in Northern Minnesota in the late 1920's. .... The first email today comes from Mr. Logjam, who writes: ...www.jtirregulars.com/ - 273k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

JT IRREGULARS: Talk About Crayons on the Bus...Check This Guy Out
Oct 29, 2008 ... Don Marco..... The Master Crayola Artist. Don Marco was born in Northern Minnesota in the late 1920's.His interest in art was evident even ...www.jtirregulars.com/2008/10/talk-about-crayons-on-buscheck-this-guy.html?showComment=1225391820000 - 6 hours ago - Similar pages - Note thisMore results from www.jtirregulars.com »

Hubble Rises From the Ashes as Phoenix Fades

The Hubble Space Telescope is back working! And just to strut it's stuff check out its first image.


This pair of galaxies is known as Arp 147 (from Halton Arp's list of peculiar galaxies) and has been dubbed the Perfect 10. The galaxy on the left seems to have just plowed through the middle of the galaxy on the right setting off a round of star formation (massive young stars tend to be nice and blue like you see in the ring).

On a sad note, the Phoenix Mars Lander entered safe mode due to low power. It is heading toward winter in the northern hemisphere on Mars and the lander is getting less power (possibly compounded by dust building up on the soalr panels). They are shutting down various heaters on it and other instruments to save power and keep it going as long as possible. We knew this was coming. Soon the Sun will set for the long winter. Snow will probably build up on the solar panels and break them so no one really expects it to wake up again in the spring. It has been a good mission, achieved all its goals and a few bonuses, and has lasted longer than its original 90 day mission.

Phoenix has served us well.

Reprinted with permission form the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

ExxonMobil posts biggest quarterly profit ever, $14.8 billion

http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/earnings/2008-10-30-exxonmobil_N.htm

In other news, Congress reported today that they still can't figure out why retail gasoline prices rose so high in recent years or where the money is going.

"The free market is a funny thing," snorted Senator Pocketstuffed, "especially when it ain't free."

The Chesire Cat Gravitational Lens

I just found this gravitational lens from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey which has been dubbed the Chesire Cat.

Hopefully you can see the eyes and the smile near the center of the image.

The two eyes of the cat are two massive elliptical galaxies about 4.5 billion light years away. These galaxies are bending and distorting the light of more distant galaxies (at least two different galaxies have been identified) to form the smile. These more distant galaxies are about 8 billion light years away.

Gravitational lensing is one of those weird things predicted by Einstein. He said that a massive object (say a galaxy) could warp space. Light from a more distant object would follow this strangely curved space time and creates all kinds of interesting patterns such as arcs, crosses and circles.

Gravitational lenses are useful for mapping dark matter. By looking at the pattern we see, we can calculate how much matter is present and how it is distributed. We can also look at the matter we see and conclude that what we don't see is, well, dark matter!

You can see the Chesire Cat and a bunch of other gravitaitonal lenses from the SDSS at at the CASSOWARY Graviational Lens page.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Death From the Podcasts

Last week I blogged about my friend Phil Plait and his new book Death From the Skies. It turns out he is doing a virtual book tour and you can join him.

First up is an interview with my friend Pamela Gay at Astronomy Cast. You can hear him talk a lot about the topics in the books. This podcast is free to download or you can listen streaming.

Next stop is an interview on the Skeptics Guide to the Universe. This one is in my mp3 player now, waiting to be listened to. I have been listening to this podcast for a while so I have no problem giving it the recommendation.

Some people say they will wait for the movie of the book...now I guess we wait for the podcast!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Talk About Crayons on the Bus...Check This Guy Out

Don Marco..... The Master Crayola Artist

Don Marco was born in Northern Minnesota in the late 1920's.His interest in art was evident even before starting school. As a young adult in the Army Air Corp, he began his life's career in Air Traffic Control, which continued until his retirement from Honolulu International Airport in 1973. Much of his spare time was spent as a professional artist. Before retirement, Don started developing a technique to create fine art, using Crayola Crayons. Shortly after retiring, he published his first print. Living in Southern California , his work was in demand, including commissions from Burt Reynolds and a one-man show at his Dinner Theater in Florida. Hard to imagine these are done with crayons!!!

There are many images so I posted them here to save space.......

“Mr. Crayola”

Oh No Another Game to Play

Hangman...and I suck at it....

“Hangman”

A Translation of Joe Cocker at Woodstock

Those who listen to Joe Cocker know sometimes he is very hard to understand. This video has illustrations and captions of all the words when he sang “With a little help from my friends” at Woodstock.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Boo to you, my ghouls and goblins! Happy Halloween! This is one of my favorite times of the year. Please enjoy my holiday blog.


The first email today comes from Mr. Logjam, who writes:

Madame,

With Halloween coming up, I am in need of your vision into the mystic. Looking forward into my past, is my younger self going to get the good candy this year Trick or Treating or am I doomed to a bag full of Tootsie Rolls like in the past?

My gratitude to you is as always.

Dear Logjam,

Your query brought a tear to my eye. Looking forward into your past, I was filled with melancholy at the prospect of young Logjam facing another Halloween with nothing but little logs of hard, stale, chocolate taffy to show for it. Therefore, I did something that I rarely do; I altered the space-time continuum. Oh, don’t worry, not by much. Just enough to give young Logjam a Halloween filled with Hershey bars and Three Musketeers bars and Snickers and Milky Ways and gobs of other goodies this year. Please let us know how the memory feels as soon as you receive it, Mr. Logjam.

P.S. To all of you: messing with the s-t continuum usually has some side effects like people and/or other forms of life suddenly fading into and/or out of existence in the present. And buildings. And maybe a few other things. And history is changed. You’ll get used to it. Or dematerialize. You should check out who is running for president now!


The second email today comes from a “Ms Awa Dominic,” who has a familiar way of saying things:

Hello Dear,

In the galaxy where all is beauty i fine it necessary to approach your Platform these way, well i apologies if my mode of contacting you will any way offend you,as well pardon me for the inconvenient it will take you in listen to my magistrate,i got your contact when i was searching for business partner,one fact to know is that, the essential sadness is to pass through life without experience, yet is also sad to pass through life without sharing once experience and weakness to others,if this is true of me.

I am Ms Awa Dominic, From Sudan,my mother die when she was giving berth to me,and my father Mr Dominic Dim Deng,is a military delegate whom die in the recent plane crash, see the web http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7380412.stm I am residing is Senegal since the war of Sudan,I want you to assist me retrieve my late father sizable asset , so that i come over to your country for investment.Thank for your anticipation.

Dear “Ms Awa Dominic,”

Or should I call you Stella the Stargazer? Or Andrea the Mystic? Or whatever other names that you, Shirley Deister, of Brookfield, IL, are going by now? I recognize that “Awa Dominic” alias from Cook County jail over 20 years ago. Shirley, I knew that you were low, but I never thought you’d stoop to email scams. This is my territory, so hit the road, “Dear,” and take that flakey assistant of yours, Thomas P. O’Dea, with you! If I'm lucky, you both dematerialized after you sent me that spam.


I have more online tricks and treats for you this week:
Try out Ben & Jerry’s Halloween Experience.
Be sure to visit BlackDog’s Halloween Party.
Check out FreeHalloween.com.
And my personal favorite, Halloween with Boowa & Kwala.


Finally, my friends, I just have to put in a good word for the Burlington Vortex Conference this weekend. (Journal Times story here.) My booth will be the one with the flashing neon JTI sign. I hope to see you there.

Don’t forget to email your questions and comments, phantoms and apparitions, possessionss and visitations to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com. Have a haunted week.

Dosvidanya, dears.

"Don't Turn Your Back, don't look away, and don't blink. Good luck!"

Such is the warning given by the Doctor in the wonderful episode of Doctor Who titled Blink. Given that is it Halloween and this is a classic horror episode, now is the time to rent the DVD (its in season 3 of the current revival).

For the unititated, Doctor Who follows the adventures of a Time Lord known as the Doctor. It first aired on the BBC in 1963 and kept going until the late 1980's. It was recently revived and reimagined by the BBC.

Blink starts with young woman named Sally Sparrow exploring an old mansion. She finds a message with her name on it under some old wallpaper telling her to duck. She duck just as a rock passes over her head. She returns to the site with Kathy, a friend of Sally's. Kathy disappears. Sally instantly meets a young man who claims to be Kathy's grandson with a letter for her. And thus begins the mystery.

Don't blink Doctor Who
Uploaded by silent_howl

This is a classic horror story. You never see the monsters...they are always just out of sight, waiting for you to look away...or even blink. Only two people die in the episode, no blood or gore, but the story is written so you care about these characters which gives their passing more impact.

Fans of Back to the Future will recognize lots of the same time travel paradoxes played with here. The creepy ending will leave you jumpy the next time you see a gargoyle.

So rent this for a good scare this week...and whatever you do, don't turn you back, don't look away, and don't blink!

Dining out in the World

This is a neat little quiz about etiquette around the world.

“Dining out in the World”

From your coordinator -little, managable, irregular, minor glitch..

Hi everybody, this is your humble events coordinator.
Please answer the following so we can get something in the works,
thanks!
Question #1 - How does a bowling/darts/pizza night sound?
Question #2 - When are you guys available?
Check your emails, you should have one
with the alternative dates,
Please let me know what works and what doesn't.
(At Paradise West on Hy 20)

Input? What works for you? Does this sound like a decent plan?
Any questions, please email me at lizardmom@wi.net
thanks!!

Here’s one for all the cooks out there......

Should be something for everyone.....

“Goodies for the Holidays”

BRRRR... Frozen Monday OPEN BLOG!!!

Time to pull out the long undies, it's cold out there!!!
Last week was a very long week with tragedies to start the week,
the reality of it all didn't hit me until this morning,
between that, and the cold, and the very fact that it's

MONDAY...

How about we start this week with some good humor,
I NEED IT!!
So what do you have to help this week start out better???
SER, I know you have plenty, lets get the giggles going!

Is anyone else having trouble with this site using Firefox?

Since yesterday evening, I cannot properly view this site in Firefox, my favorite internet browser. (The blogs are stretched across the page and the sidebar appears at the bottom of the page.) I'm using Internet Explorer to post and read this, and that works fine. The JTI CHAT page appears OK in Firefox, as do all the other blogspot blogs I've visited. So, is it just me?

Liberal HollywoodFor Obama

Okay, it was funny enough seeing Ron Howard do this, I had to post it.

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die