Bangles anyone?

I know, I can hear the groaning. Seriously, you need to check this one out:

The Three Sunrises - U2

An underappreciated song from the EP Wide Awake In America.

Video Music Machine

Friday Night. Wire from U2 from the Unforgetable Fire.

The Pretenders - Middle of the Road

Ahh, Chrissie Hynde...

This is Just so Wrong...

The New Daily Kenoshan

http://www.dailykenoshan.com/

I don't know who they are or what they're doing. I just noticed that the site is up again. They're linked in our sidebar under local news once more.

Positively Pigs

Mayor Dickert is the focus of s story on the Racine Post: http://news.racinepost.com/2009/08/positively-draft.html. The story states that the mayor wants us to be positive about Racine. I believe that this is a worthy cause, but it is impossible for me to get behind a liar. You never know what a liar is going to say or do. Dickert lied to us about the city administrator's position during his campaign. He lied about a 10 year plan for Racine. A couple of weeks after taking office, he held a fundraiser for his re-election campaign. Then he met behind closed doors to install an unqualified Becker crony and confidant into the city administrator's position (which he said we didn't need) at an unheard of salary for an unheard of 6 years. Then he jets off to Rhode Island claiming that his tax-paid jaunts around the country will get jobs for Racine. (Gee, does that sound like some other recent mayor, hmm?) Meanwhile, NO jobs have turned up for Racine, but the mayor and his cronies are doing just fine, thank you.

I am so sick and tired of politicians telling us, the residents of Racine, that we have to get behind and support their lies, or we are being negative or whiners or whatever.

I will be positive about Racine when you STOP LYING TO US!

I will be positive about Racine when you represent ALL OF RACINE and not just DRC/RAMAC/J-Wax.

Pig politicians oinking and oinking and oinking about Racine is NOT POSITIVE - it's just the usual PIGS out for glory and more slop.

Way back when

Pot was Cheap. How cheap was pot way back? Well when I was a pup, an old saw said he got Three pound coffee cans full for just $5. For sure that was nothing I ever saw, but in my day pot was still cheap. We got it for $10 a three and a half finger ounce. There were rumors of the Holy Grail four finger ounce, but those finds were rare and usually ditch/dirt weed. (Not really worth a $5 three pound coffee can) Back about then with this cheap pot, we'd go to concerts and people actually passed ENTIRE JOINTS down the row and away from them. Sometimes never to be seen again. Of course there were no worries because a joint was usually headed your way (and sometimes from three different directions).

One of the bands I saw during this time was a short period wonder. For the driving music they had, I thought they'd for sure last longer than they did. The song is titled, "Blinding Light Show" by Triumph. The stage show was much more intense when I saw them and the lights were so numerous and bright that when they turned them on, the first three rows of revelers were instantly burned crisp and turned to ashes. I think Milwaukee suffered a brown out that night.

Beyond the Yellow Brick Road - the Ending we never saw

Want to see what really happened at the end of the Wizard of Oz?

the Ending we never saw

A Strange Old Tool

24 Things About To BecomeExtinct In The USA:

Many of these are quite interesting. Due to the size of the file I have posted them here Extinct in the USA

As an example:

23. Classified Ads
The Internet has made so many things obsolete that newspaper classified ads might sound like just another trivial item on a long list. But this is one of those harbingers of the future that could signal the end of civilization as we know it. The argument is that if newspaper classifieds are replaced by free online listings at sites like Craigslist.org and Google Base, then newspapers are not far behind them.

Not that we're Crime Stoppers . . .

They're looking for a third person, Jose Amahury Leon-Nava, to question in the custard stand killing that took place in Kenosha last week.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/52479142.html

I suspect that no Irregulars have spotted him, and I doubt that this is a particularly good site for wanted posters, but I feel bad about a young guy who was just working his way toward a decent life being murdered for a few lousy dollars.

If you know where Leon-Nava is, please call the police or Kenosha Crime Stoppers at (800) 807-8477.

I knew it!!!!!

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my beautiful blossoms! How are you? It looks like those lazy hazy crazy days of summer are finally here. Just in time for the back to school sales.

I’ve decided to take a mini-vacation this week. There were no calls or emails. But Grandma Zoltar was in the hospital again over the weekend. Even with my powers, it can get taxing. So, I’m going to lie back and spend some quality “me time” with me. I hope I enjoy it.

I wouldn’t leave you completely high and dry, though, beloved Irregulars. First, here’s a link to an interesting online Gipsy Fortune Teller: http://www.gipsyfortuneteller.com/.

Second, here’s The Who, at the Fillmore East in 1968, doing “Fortune Teller”



And third, here’s an unsettling video entitled “Nizar Qabbani's The Fortune Teller (Spoken Word Poetry)”



Don’t forget to email your fortune and fears to me: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Have a glorious week, my dears. Toodle doo-doo!

WTF

With all the street construction going on in Racine, this is a perfect sign!!

.

Save water! Pee in the shower!

(CBS) New TV ads are encouraging Brazilians to save water - by urinating in the shower.

Brazilian environmental group SOS Mata Atlantica says the campaign, running on several television stations, uses humor to persuade people to reduce flushes.

The group says if a household avoids one flush a day, it can save up to 4,380 liters (1,157 gallons) of water annually.

SOS spokeswoman Adriana Kfouri said Tuesday that the ad is "a way to be playful about a serious subject."

The spot features cartoon drawings of people from all walks of life - a trapeze artist, a basketball player, even an alien - urinating in the shower.

Narrated by children's voices, the ad ends with: "Pee in the shower! Save the Atlantic rainforest!"

LOL.. I just had to beat someone else to posting this.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/08/04/ap/strange/main5214517.shtml

"Teen on bicycle critically injured in accident "

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/52426262.html

That happened in Milwaukee. A kid on a bicycle crossed against a light and was hit by two vehicles. It is only a matter of time before a similar headline appears in Racine media. I have close calls with bicyclists almost every day. Very few of them obey any traffic laws.

Yesterday, I came to a complete stop on Lake Ave. as a bicyclist headed straight for my truck, in the middle of the lane, against traffic. He was looking back at a friend on another bike. He suddenly looked up, saw my stopped truck, veered off at the last second, and swore at me. This is typical.

Last week, I almost creamed a bicyclist on Main St. who was running a red light at the intersection with 6th St. I locked my brakes and swerved into the oncoming lane to avoid him. He flipped me off.

Party on!

Wisconsin Women Stick It to Cheating Lover

"WAUSAU, Wis. — A married man who planned to rendezvous with one of his handful of lovers at an eastern Wisconsin motel instead found himself bound, blindfolded and assaulted by a group of women out for revenge, according to court documents.

"Four women, including his wife, eventually showed up to humiliate the man, who ended up with his penis glued to his stomach in a bizarre plot to punish him for a lover's quadrangle gone bad, according to the documents filed in Calumet County."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iNgiwUUydNF4ludSZhGSw8wIuf1AD99RUL5O1


Don't tick off the ladies, fool.

--------------------------------

EDIT - here's a video report:

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

Really dont know when I'll be back again..

My days here in my beloved Racine, Wi are coming to an end very shortly. I cannot believe that almost 4 months have passed but alas they have.

I appreciate my time here and am very glad my parents got the time to get to know their grandbabies like they did, but it's time for me to go back to Sweden. I am very happy that I got to meet those of you I got to meet, although I showed up late to one party and then had to leave early from the other. I was quite shy when I met you all in person as I am always, I was hoping that I would be able to loosen up because I have gotten to know all of you online before hand.

It's funny when I got here back in April, I was thinking that 4 months was going to be an eternity (especially when living with the folks again), but it passed by very quickly pretty strange actually. I am however very much looking forward to getting into my routines that I otherwise tire of. I yearn for the food I otherwise find dull, I yearn for the serenity and quiet of our little town that otherwise drives me crazy out of boredom. It is funny how the grass is always maybe just a little greener on the otherside. I guess in some ways I'm quite lucky that I can visit one side and then go back to the other when that grass has lushened up again. It is always kind of difficult because with having 2 homes you never really feel completely at home. There is always someone you miss, or something that calls you to the other side.

I am in the midst of trying to pack 4 months of my hoarding (gotta love the rummage sales!!) in our 6 suitcases and having a hard time doing it. In the middle of that madness my daughters got sick. Mina has had fever since Friday morning went to the doctor today to find a double ear infection, got some antibiotics that was going to cost me $100!!, but the girl did something and got it down to $47 and now Maia was showing signs of fever (100degrees). Sick babies on long flights will not be pleasant..

Anyways, my leaving Racine doesnt change my relationship to JTI, except for that I will probably be around more because I will actually have time to sit in front of the computer. I just really wanted to say goodbye and thank you all for being so open and warm to me when we met. You are a great group of people and hopefully next time I will be more outgoing and kind of get in to the group a little more. So I ask those of you who are here in Racine, please take care of her, I will miss her terribly and to all of you take care of yourselves, I will be seeing you around online. Bye for now..

Why Not?
Marie

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOGADDICT

I'm thinking there should have been a party today somewhere!

.

But happy birthday anywho...!!!!

Irregular Football League

We still have spots open in the Irregular Football League.
Also, do we want to auto pick the draft, or would you like to try a live online draft this year. Let me know!



http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1/signup

League Name:
Irregular Football League

Password:

partyon

Vanishing in the Middle of the Night

Let's say you go to Barnes & Noble and purchase the latest thriller. You are reading it, totally engrossed. You want to keep reading, but finally fall asleep late at night. In the morning, you wake up and your book is gone. In its place is a small pile of money exactly equal to the purchase price of the book.

Well, it happened to thousands of people recently. Amazon removed a couple of e-books from thousands of Kindles recently claiming the versions they sold were still under copywrite protection. Ironically, two of the books involved were 1984 and Animal Farm. As you may expect, Amazon is being sued over this already.

This action leads to all kinds of questions about the ownership of digital media. If you buy some digital music, you can always burn it to CD or transfer it to another hard drive not connected to the internet. With media like the Kindle, there is no way to transfer it to another device. Therefore, Amazon always has the option to delete it (and they have).

Let's go to the next step. Any online information is subject to change. We are now at Orwell's point where history can start being rewritten easily. We have all seen it on some local blogs where the author goes back and changes his original posting after criticisms are made. People here are free to remove comments (I will admit I have edited blogs after posting for bad errors, but I use strikethrough for the original text so everyone can see the changes I made). However, many amateur bloggers don't exactly hold themselves to very high standards in case you haven't noticed.

The Internet Archive attempts to help by taking regular snapshots of the internet. I have found it difficult to use and incomplete, unfortunately. I applaud them for their effort as any organization that attempts to stop potential shenanigans with history has my support.

All They Do Is Lie To Us

THEN: "During his presidential campaign, Obama repeatedly pledged 'you will not see any of your taxes increase one single dime.'"

NOW: "'There is a lot that can happen over time,' [National Economic Council Director Lawrence] Summers said, adding that the administration believes 'it is never a good idea to absolutely rule things out, no matter what.'"

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/08/03/us/politics/AP-US-Economy.html


How can we make informed decisions when our representatives lie to us? How can we even begin to do business or interact with someone who changes what they say whenever it suits their purpose?

Lies, lies, lies.

Where is the Ten Year Plan?

Jill and Kevin's Last Day

Remember SER's YouTube post about a new way to walk down the wedding aisle?

http://www.jtirregulars.com/2009/07/new-way-to-walk-your-new-bride-to-be.html

Well, some people have filmed a take off on that video, about a new way to enter divorce court.

From the YouTube site below: "If you have seen the first video of Jill and Kevin's Unexpected Wedding Entrance, that made headlines around the internet ... Then you definitely cannot miss out this Unexpected Divorce Entrance of Jill and Kevin."

"Fake ATM doesn't last long at hacker meet"

"IDG News Service - Criminals running an ATM card-skimming scam made a big mistake this week: They tried to hit the Defcon hacker conference in Las Vegas.

"As the conference was kicking off a few days ago, attendees noticed that an ATM placed in the Riviera Hotel, which plays host to the annual event, didn't quite look right, according to a senior conference organizer who identified himself only as Priest. 'They looked at the screen where there would normally be a camera,' he said. 'It was a little bit too dark, so someone shined a flashlight in there and there was a PC.'"

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9136179/Fake_ATM_doesn_t_last_long_at_hacker_meet


I'd never heard of fake ATMs before this. You put in your card and type in your PIN. The machine then tells you that it is temporarily out of service and gives you your card back. You go looking for another ATM. Meanwhile, the fake machine has recorded your card info and PIN. The crooks get more and more sophisticated.

Here's Defcon's site, if you'e not afraid that they'll hack you: http://www.defcon.org/

Japanese Astronaut Doesn't Change Underwear for a Month

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g8gpZRl3t8mV2RxsVjIuPU75dJeAD99P1BC00

Hale, how did you miss this story?

For KK, Who is Concerned About My Web Surfing...

I am almost tempted to get a new pair of Nikes!



For the record, they featured this in the new issue of Runner's World I was reading over lunch.

A Day at the Beach...

Can take a nasty turn if someone decides to take revenge on you by giving you a Dissolving Bikini. You will look good in this sexy little black number for about three minutes after which you will find yourself wearing nothing at all. Great gift for bachelorette parties!

Committed to Lies, Compelled to Filth

"Sex Crimes and the Vatican" - BBC Documentary, 2006

Embedded playlist - leave player on and all four segments of the documentary will play.

UCLA Cancels 'Undie Run'

"LOS ANGELES — UCLA said this week it is canceling the finals-week tradition known as 'Undie Run,' when students blow off steam by jogging through campus in their underwear.

"The university cited fights, injuries, vandalism and other safety and security problems as the main reasons it is no longer allowing the event, according to a statement issued Tuesday by UCLA.

"Undie Run occurs three times a year on the Wednesday of each quarter’s finals week."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,535868,00.html

More pictures: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-undieruns-pg,0,2253585.photogallery


Why doesn't Racine have a fun tradition like this? Maybe we could organize an Undie Run to be held the night before or after the Lighthouse Run.

Have Your Beer and Drink It, Too

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/50404492.html

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/wasted.html

Seems like the Journal Sentinel spends a lot of time criticizing the drinking culture in Wisconsin, yet they can't resist plugging that same culture when it comes to generating hits on their site.

Party on!

In Response to the Ink Blot Test...

Crazy Pete is classic.

Chicago Woman Sued over Twitter about Landlord

On May 12, Amanda Bonnen posted this comment on Twitter about the company that mananged her apartment building: "Who said sleeping in a moldy apartment was bad for you? Horizon realty thinks it's okay."

In response, Horizon Group Management LLC has filed a libel lawsuit against Ms. Bonnen seeking $50,000 in damages.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/1688511,cst-nws-twitter28.article

Jeffrey Michael, whose family has run Horizon for more than 25 years, said, "We're a 'sue first, ask questions later' kind of an organization."

Beejay is leaving town

I head out to Florida on Sunday. This weekend is the wonderful family reunion for which I made this trek to the great State of WI. So far I have been wined and dined by about everyone in the county. The weather, however, could have been a tad warmer!

One last little gathering this evening for anyone interested. Abby and SER know the location or call me. I think most of you have my number.

Anyway, thanks for the fun and the laughs. I will miss you all. Remember, there is an satellite party location in Florida!

Beejay!!!

PS to KK, DA, Abby and Mr. DA: We ROCK!

Thank You, Evolution

I take this with a big grain of salt for about twelve different reasons (not the last of which is it appears on a web site called "Yourtango.com"). Turns out women are getting more attractive over time. Markus Jokela of the University of Helsinki found that attractive women have more children and are more likely to have daughters, hence increasing the percentage of attractive women in the world. Even Forbes thought this was important, so someone must be planning to make money off of it.

Interestingly enough, the study was based on about 10,000 students who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957...results not guaranteed in other states.

Shake Weight

https://www.shakeweight.org/

We can thank Michelle Obama and her sleeveless look for this.

"Based on a completely new workout technology called Dynamic Inertia."

Or is that Inert Dynamics? Whatever, just $19.95!

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my cherubic cherries! How are you? Just like I (and everyone else) predicted, we drown in spring, but go without in July and August. So far, it hasn’t been intolerably hot, though. A cool summer. Will it continue? What’s it worth to you to know?

No mail, messages, calls, or twitters this week. Actually, I don’t twitter, but I have been known to titter. It’s difficult to keep up with all of those electronic gadgets and gizmos. I prefer to rely upon my tried and true crystal ball to keep me in touch with the currents that eddy about us. Of course, I’ve had it upgraded a few times, adding more memory and speeding things up. And I use astral broadband to connect to the real ether net. My crystal ball has never failed me, unlike some computers (and people) I’ve known.

In my never-ending quest to bring you the best in psychic infotainment, I’m proud to introduce you to Craig and Jane Hamilton-Parker, a real-life couple who star in the Biography Channel’s TV series, “Our Psychic Family.”



They also have quite the website, http://www.psychics.co.uk/, with links to everything psychic. Hmm, maybe I should contact them about featuring some Zoltar® brand products.

I also came across a blog entitled “Psychic Experiences & Astral Projection: A Personal Record” on Blogspot: http://sense6.blogspot.com/. I haven’t read much of it, but I like the look of the labels on the sidebar: “assisted death (2), astral attack (5), astral kidnapping (2), being someone else (1), etc.” Astral kidnapping is a much neglected crime in our country and I’m pleased to see it getting some attention, no matter how little. Perhaps if federal law were applied to the astral plane, we would see a reduction in the crime and violence that occurs even there. However, I have yet to hear President Obama or any member of Congress utter one word on the subject.

Irregulars definitely should check out “Living With Your Psychic Gifts” on Blogspot: http://lwypg.blogspot.com/. Look familiar? That always creeps me out when it happens. I don’t know why.

Another interesting website is Marguerite Kusuhara’s: http://www.gypsymagic.com/. She blends gypsy arts and magic to entertain corporate clients. Below are a couple of her videos.





Marguerite also has a YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/gypsymagicdancer.

Marguerite is one more artist in the growing number of psychic entertainers available for hire. We even have our own organization, the Psychic Entertainers Association.

http://www.p-e-a.org/

“Founded on 26 May 1978, the Psychic Entertainers Association is an international organization of about 300 members with a serious and vested interest in the ethical performance of psychic entertainment.

“Its membership is comprised of mentalists, bizarrists, hypnotists, readers, and allied artists, including full-time, part-time, and retired entertainers.”

Bizarrist. Now I know what to call our wonderful Mr. OrbsCorbs. Jk, OC, jk. Isn’t that hip texting or twittering or tweeting or tooting or something? I’ll never learn…

Don’t forget to send your magical requests and bequests to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Have a wonderful week, every one of you. I love all of my JT Irregulars. Thank you for stopping by and thank you for reading my blog. Arraviolios!

ISS and Shuttle: Post Separation

Well, I gave it another shot tonight. The Shuttle left the ISS today which means they are flying pretty close together, close enough to get them both in the same shot. Unfortunately, they flew a pretty bad path for where I live. First, they were low in the sky. Second, I live on the east side of Tucson and they flew from the west, across the southwest part of they sky and ended up in the south which means the lights of Tucson are particularly bright in that direction. To top if off, there was a first quarter Moon adding to the lights of Tucson. Still, with all that working against me, I gave it a shot.

Click the photo to embiggen and you will see the two streaks easier. The one on the left is the Shuttle and the one on the right is the ISS. I blog sometimes on light pollution and you can see the effects of it here...and Tucson does a better job than most cities at being night sky friendly.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

"Makeover advised for gang member kicked by El Monte officer"

"The attorney for a gang member kicked in the head by an El Monte police officer at the end of a televised car chase thinks his client has a great case. On Thursday, Nick Pacheco filed a $5-million legal claim against the city on behalf of the 23-year-old.

"But just in case, the attorney said his heavily tattooed client will be getting an extreme makeover in time for a trial, complete with a thick Tom Selleck mustache -- think 'Magnum P.I.' -- to cover the name of his street gang, which is inked on his upper lip. Richard Rodriguez will also grow hair to cover the tattoos on his shaved head. And he'll wear a nice, conservative suit.

"To make his point, Pacheco used Photoshop to show the difference."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-elmonte24-2009jul24,0,431133.story


What? All of a sudden he isn't proud of his affiliation? He's ashamed of his brothers? I thought gangs were thicker than blood? He's dissing his family. They should make an example of him.

The ISS Plus Two

Tonight I stayed home to image from the Courtyard of my townhome. It was a much brighter ISS pass than last night, so I thought I could catch it without going out to a dark site.

I caught an interesting photo of the ISS. You can see it as the bright streak on the left. On the right you see a series of pairs of "stars" connected by a very thin streak. This is a plane that happened to fly through my image.

Now for the challenge. Click the image to embiggen. Look closely between the plane and the ISS for a thin streak heading down to the left right. After checking Heavens Above, I believe this may be the Cosmos 1666 rocket (I could see it visibly, but it was tougher to catch with the camera). Look closely and you will see the Milky Way starting to poke through the image. Several star clusters are visible. After seeing that, I wish I drove out to the park to catch this from a slightly darker site.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Pageant Host Makes Big Entrance

Nice recovery, Jan Kraus.

Slang and short comments.......

Beginning in the early ‘60’s and continuing today, what “slang” or “short comments” do you remember?

This is just a couple I do:

Harry...something that was a ‘close call’ people would say, “That was Harry”.

Tune in, turn on and drop out....LSD

Plastic....No not Michael Jackson, but a term used as someone who didn’t fit your way of thinking. "He's plastic"!

Response to JT letter

The following letter was in the JT today:

Thank you, Michael

Regarding recent tragic death of our dear beloved Michael Jackson.

I believe he is the only one of a kind being — that of a musical genius and brilliant dancer — for one. He did so much to enrich people’s lives and eased the pain and suffering of sick and dying people no matter who they were. I believe he wanted peace and end to war and through his music and deeds he did bring people together.

I’m only one in millions of people who adored him and inspired by him and to Michael Jackson, thank you for all the good and happy years you made for me and for millions.

Eileen Botsch

Franksville

I don't know why this bothered me but it did. People cry for a celebrity but fail to feel for the true heroes. I sent the following to the JT. I'm sure they wont put it on the op-ed page, so I'll put it here:

I took it upon myself to re-write Eileen Botsch’s Michael Jackson letter for someone worth praise and adoration:

Thank you, US Soldier

Regarding recent tragic death of our dear beloved US Soldier

I believe he is the only one of a kind being — that of a defender of freedom — for one. He did so much to enrich people’s lives and eased the pain and suffering of sick and dying people no matter who they were. I believe he wanted peace and end to war and through his honor and bravery he did bring people together.

I’m only one in millions of people who adored him and inspired by him and all US soldiers, thank you for all the good and happy years you made for me and for millions.

RWWackoStu
Sturtevant, WI

Thunderbirds

Photos from Milwaukee air show 7/26/09

The top two pictures are prop drive planes from WWII

Following are pictures of the Thunderbirds

What goes up has to come down

With or without smoke!

Catching up to the group




If you enlarge these you can see the thunderbird
painted on the bottom of the jets

I was a little slow when it came to catching a picture of the jets...

Oh no...I just wanted to show you the different clouds that moved thru the area!

A real life UFO!!!!!!!

steviemark productions has authorized posting of photos

Intoxicated Racine woman causes accident with 2-year-old daughter in car

"Shortly after midnight Sunday, officers responded to a crash at 60th St. and Layton Ave. A 57-year-old Beaver Dam man, his 53-year-old wife and their 33-year-old son were waiting at a red light in a minivan when they were rear-ended by a subcompact car.

"The car was driven by a 26-year-old Racine woman. The woman's 2-year-old daughter was found in the back seat, wearing a lap belt, but was not secured in a child safety seat as the law requires, police said. The child was not injured in the crash. The woman in the van was taken to West Allis Memorial Hospital for treatment of neck and back injuries.

"Police arrested the Racine woman on suspicion of drunken driving resulting in injury. Sgt. Mike Brunner said due to the woman's high level of intoxication she was not able to tell officers who could take custody of her daughter. Officers eventually made contact with the child's grandparents.

"Because the woman's daughter was in the vehicle, police are seeking to have the charges upgraded to a felony. The district attorney's office is set to review the case Monday."

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/51739142.html


I didn't see this on the Journal Times site, so I thought I'd pass it along.

Another ISS Pass

This time with the shuttle docked. I got out there a little early to see a little of sunset.

The pass was about half an hour after sunset so the sky was still a little light. Therefore, I used a low ISO and a shorter exposure. After taking several shots during the pass, this was my favorite.

We have really good passes here Tuesday and Wednesday. The monsoon is taking a break, so I might have a shot at them (although the seeing is still not that good here).

If you want to see if they will pass over your area, you can use Heavens-Above or Space Weather's Simple Satellite Tracker. Unfortunately, Racine does not look favored for these passes.

The iPhone Sex Offender Locator

Many people like using the internet to find out if there are any sex offenders living nearby. States make the info publicly available on the internet so its pretty easy to find.

What about when you are traveling or in a different neighborhood? Well, the new iPhone app called Offender Locator can help you out. It uses the GPS info from the iPhone to look up offenders near wherever you happen to be. You get a little map with the google marks showing where all the sex offenders are around you.

This app has already made the top 10 in the app store. Now I know what to do to make money...write apps the show people all the awful things around them. Maybe the Superfund sites so they can avoid chemicals, program the iPhone to beep if you drive up to an intersection with a high accident rate, etc. My goal is to make your iPhone beep so much you are constantly paralyzed with fear (evil laugh!)

The Darwin Rap

I was catching up on my podcasts of the Naked Scientists this morning on my run and listened to an episode they recorded at the Darwin Festival at Cambridge. This program features the Rap Guide to Evolution as performed by hip hop artist Baba Brinkman. He jokes that it is the word's first peer reviewed hip hop piece on evolution as it was reviewed by Dr. Mark Pallen to be sure he got the science right.

I am not an evolutionary biologist but the stuff that I do know, he gets right. He covers not just the science but also raps about how he deals with his "Calvinist fundamentalist family". Brinkman tackles a complex subject in an entertaining manner with a few laughs thrown in a along the way.

I noticed that it sounded like a small crowd at the show, a fact confirmed by the Science Magazine review of the show. They have a few videos of the show here as well.

You can listen to the Naked Scientists show online or download the mp3. For those into literature, you can check out one of his previous projects, the Rap Canterbury Tales, which is available on CD. I am checking out his tour schedule...I see he will be at Burning Man (I am already busy that weekend) but hope he tours near here with it sometime so I can catch it live.

For now, we will have to do with a couple of songs on his Youtube channel. I will leave you with his piece, "Natural Selection" filmed at Cambridge.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

"Naked girls plow fields for rain"

"PATNA, India (Reuters) – Farmers in an eastern Indian state have asked their unmarried daughters to plow parched fields naked in a bid to embarrass the weather gods to bring some badly needed monsoon rain, officials said on Thursday.

"Witnesses said the naked girls in Bihar state plowed the fields and chanted ancient hymns after sunset to invoke the gods. They said elderly village women helped the girls drag the plows.

"'They (villagers) believe their acts would get the weather gods badly embarrassed, who in turn would ensure bumper crops by sending rains,' Upendra Kumar, a village council official, said from Bihar's remote Banke Bazaar town.

"'This is the most trusted social custom in the area and the villagers have vowed to continue this practice until it rains very heavily.'"

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE56M3G020090723


I think that naked elderly village women might embarrass the weather gods even more.

"Redesigned Journal Times Web site set to launch"

http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2009/07/25/local_news/doc4a6ba9cd6ca01655459846.txt

Towards the end of the article:

"Through our parent company Lee Enterprises, The Journal Times is part of a consortium that has entered into a partnership with Yahoo!. Yahoo! built one of the most technologically advanced online advertising systems currently available. The amazing system, called Yahoo! BT (BT stands for Behavioral Targeting), will allow Journal Times advertising clients to have their ads displayed to Web site users in the 'buying cycle' for specific goods and services.

"For example, the new Yahoo! Behavioral Targeting system can determine that a user has been searching for a new Ford F-150 truck somewhere on the Internet. So when the user visits The Journal Times’ site, they will be served an F-150 ad. This type of targeting extends into demographics, geography and consumer buying patterns in multitudes of business categories. The Journal Times is the only company with the Yahoo! BT system in Racine County.

"The end goal of these new systems is to provide online readers and advertising clients with the best possible products. The Journal Times team works hard to produce the best local newspaper and Web site every day and appreciates your readership."


Oh yeah, "Behavioral Targeting" sounds like a good idea.

It will be interesting to see what the new site looks like.