Star Wars Cappella

I found this too amusing to pass up.

Goodbye Mom

This brought a tear to my eye! Hope this touches you the way it touched me! GOODBYE MOM A young man shopping in a supermarket noticed a little old lady following him around. If he stopped, she stopped. Furthermore she kept staring at him. She finally overtook him at the checkout, and she turned to him and said, "I hope I haven't made you feel ill at ease; it's just that you look so much like my late son." He answered, "That's okay." "I know it's silly, but if you'd call out "Good bye, Mom" as I leave the store, it would make me feel so happy." She then went through the checkout, and as she was on her way out of the store, the man called out, "Goodbye, Mom." The little old lady waved, and smiled back at him. Pleased that he had brought a little sunshine into someone's day, he went to pay for his groceries. "That comes to $121.85," said the clerk. "How come so much ... I only bought 5 items.." The clerk replied, "Yeah, but your Mother said you'd be paying for her things, too." Don't trust little Old Ladies!!!

India's Satellite Crashes Into The Moon!

But they tried to do that...no, really. The satellite called Chandraayan 1 carried a small impactor. While the main satellite stayed safely in orbit, the impactor was sent on a collision course to the Moon.

The 64 lbs impactor carred a laser altimeter, a camera, and a mass spectrograph to study what little air there is on the Moon. It crashed this morning (10:31 am Eastern time). They have not released any results yet, but early indications are everything went as planned. It hit the Moon at a speed of about a mile per second, so needless to say, it's not going to be sending back any more pictures!

However, it wasn't supposed to. If functioned as designed and I am Jonesin' for some pics!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

A snake, just for SER!

Look what was found next to the house today??? Only good one is a dead one!

WOW, what a ride it's been so far!! Reporting from somewhere in Italy!

Lizardmom's IRREGULAR transportation Wow, what a trip!!
Here in our 'duck', we're on the lamb, maybe we should visit a zoo too!
AA got out of control while driving, we've been banished from a few countries...
Now in Italy, so far we haven't gotten into any trouble - YET!
Pass the pizza, this is good stuff!!
Where are we off to next guys?

Kids banned from running through Laurel Clark Memorial Fountain

"RACINE — The Dr. Laurel Clark Memorial Fountain will not be open for children to play in next year."

http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2008/11/11/local_news/doc491a5b047891e944848161.txt

They've been adding chemicals to the fountain's water for health reasons. Turns out that those chemicals are messing up the works.

And they're talking about putting a chain link fence around the fountain to keep kids out of it next year.

A chain link fence? Do they mean specifically around the center where the water shoots up, or around the entire memorial? Either way, I think it will be ugly and/or defeat the purpose of the memorial. It would be better with the fountain off, or on very low volume.

Seeing the delight on the faces of kids as they ran through the fountain has been one of my favorite parts of summer. I understand why, but it's too bad that something as simple and spontaneous and innocent and joyful as that cannot be allowed to continue.


Update - thanks to fungi, I stand corrected on the chain link fence issue. This is the type of fence they are talking about when they say "chain fence:"

Obama to pioneer Web outreach as president

"NEW YORK (AP) — Transition officials call it Obama 2.0 — an ambitious effort to transform the president-elect's vast Web operation and database of supporters into a modern new tool to accomplish his goals in the White House. If it works, the new president could have an unprecedented ability to appeal for help from millions of Americans who already favor his ideas, bypassing the news media to pressure Congress."

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gfM9zjyAkvCrig1-pSPe71NoLkmwD94DK6O81

I find that heartening and scary at the same time. Heartening because I'm a big proponent of democracy and I see the Internet as a great tool for enabling and sustaining that. Scary because I also see the Internet as a great tool for the dissemination of misinformation and propaganda.

They say that JFK was the first president to use TV to his advantage. Looks like Obama will be the first cyber-wise president.

"We're not doing that anymore..."

Holy cow! That's a .50 caliber rifle.

Reminder of summer past.......

How many of you have already forgot the flooding in Racine?

More pictures located at Summer Pictures.

But Do They Obscure the View of Venus?

Big news today...we officially have the first images of planets orbiting other Sun-like stars! It was only a matter of time, and we are now there.

Exhibit A is from the Hubbls Space Telescope.

The star is blocked out by a small bar (literally) called an occulting bar. The star is so bright we need to block its light to see the dim planet nearby. That little speck of light is the planet! It may not look like much, but it has been imaged multiple times to confirm it really is a planet in orbit around the star. The star itself is called Fomalhaut and is one of the brightest stars in the sky.

The next example orbits the star with a much more obscure name, HR8799. The big news here is we can see THREE PLANETS!

Note the three red dots in the image at the right. This image was taken in the infrared. Planets give off a lot more light in the infrared so they are easy to detect in an infrared image. Even the closest of the three planets is about 3.8billion km from the Sun (close the distance of Uranus from the Sun.) In other words, theere is plenty of room for more planets closer to this star...maybe small, rocky, planets like...well, let's not get carried away yet!

Once we found the first extrasolar planet, the pace of discoveries rapidly increased. Now that we have the first images, I hope we do as well at getting more!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Health Warning: Don't Swallow Your Bubble Gum!

Gee, Wally! What a Swell Sculpture!

And its going to be in the Louvre! Let's get June, Ward and the Beaver and go see it!

Yep, that Wally, Tony Dow, will have a sculpture on display at the Louvre titled "Unarmed Warrior" from December 11th to the 14th.

Originally, the sculpture had arms until Eddie Haskell heard it was going to be at the Louvre and decided to take it out to try and pick up girls. The arms were lost in comical, but unfortunate accident involving popcorn, and a top hat at an early 3D movie. Afterwards, Haskell charmed everyone into believing the accident was caused by a mysterious one armed man.

I think this is kind of cool. Sometimes former celebrities have strange talents and go onto successful second careers...although I am not sure Wally and the Beaver would fully appreciate abstract sculpture!

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my friends, hello! Did you go to the Christmas parade? Neither did I.

Our first and only email today comes from the beloved SER, who writes:

Madam,

There are those who claim December 21, 2012, schools out...it’s the end of the world. My question is, does your crystal ball fall in line with this date and if not do you have one in mind? I really wanna know this way I can spend a shit house full of money on credit cards knowing in advance I’ll never have to pay them off!!

Dear Mr. SER, you sly devil, you. You don’t have to do that. You can go out and rack up an outhouse full bills on credit cards right now, and then just declare bankruptcy. It’s the American way. In fact, if you get into really, really, really big debt, maybe the government will bail you out.

However, if you still insist upon a hint on the end of the world, I can tell you that the warranty on my crystal ball runs out on December 12, 2012 – and it’s not renewable.

Here’s something interesting, friends, an interactive fortune teller. Kind of cute, but I don’t think it will ever replace the real thing:



And here’s an incredibly bad video entitled "Fun Rangers #5: The Fortune Teller." I have no idea what this means, but I’m sure it’s funny if you ingest the right combination of chemicals:



Well, it has been a joy visiting with you. Please send your questions and comments to me at madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Hasta la vista, dearies.

Don't Google "Flu" Unless You Are Really Sick...

Because it turns out that Google is using aggregate search data to track flu outbreaks. The basic idea is simple. If a lot of people in Des Moines are doing Google searches about the flu, odds are a lot of people in Des Moines are coming down with the flu. They claim they can detect outbreaks faster than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since they don't have to rely on collecting lots of reports from health care providers.

There is an interactive flash map at the Google Flu Trends site as well as a flu shot clinic locator.

So if you all want to test it out, start doing lots of google searchs for the flu where you live and see if you can trick it into thinking you have an outbreak!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Jim Doyles KRM Christmas Song

(Sung to Jingle Bells)

tax and spend
tax and spend
choo choo on the brain
oh what fun it is to ride
this empty little train.....


Come On KRM Committee.... our Pockets are empty. We are taxed out and cant pay anymore to fund pet projects. Give us a fricken break!

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 »