Hurricane… uh, I mean … Tropical Storm Fay

Lacy and I drove out of Bradenton FL on Monday evening in Big Ride and Big Easy, headed north to avoid whatever-it-is Fay.

RV’s are designed to resist headwinds, as they see on highways. 70, 80 mph. About half that from the side, and hardly anything from the rear. So to me it doesn’t matter if it’s called a typhoon, a cyclone, a tropical storm or a hurricane. 70 mph winds? Color me gone.

We are now 250 miles north of Bradenton, and 100 miles west, in Tallahassee. I found a nice RV campground, and we will wait it out.

Another lemonade, Lacy? Coming right up!

Ancient Siamese Dances by Chinese Girls

Awesome Dances performed by deaf Chinese girls

They will be featured in the Paralympics in Beijing after the Olympics.

Counting

Color Printing Service

(Sorry this is in with all the posts. It’s a WordPress thing.)

The Convention

“The Convention, huh? What time will Bill be on?”

Maybe the ACLU Is Very Wrong

The American Civil Liberties Union is out of control again.

They demand that the Navy stop the practice of  Midshipmen listening to a non-denominational prayer before lunch.

They threw this tantrom when I was a Mid those many years ago.

But this time, a court martial just convicted a Midshipman of having child pornography on his computers. Five years sentence.

No, less prayer is the wrong way to go.

Phoenix Lander

NASA extended the mission of the Phoenix Lander on Mars by nearly 40 days, giving the unmanned spacecraft more time to explore for conditions which might have supported life.

The cost of extending the operations of the lander until October 1 will add $2 million to the mission’s $457 million price tag.

WAIT!

WHAT?!

“… will add $2 million to the mission’s $457 million price tag.”

For what? They can’t send it more gas, or new batteries, or spare light bulbs.

We are already paying for the techs in the bunkers, for the programmers, for the radio waves, and for the photography.

Here’s a way to save money: Cancel the remaining shuttle flights, and keep the Rover running as long as the money holds out.

Oh, and fire the guy or gal who came up with that too convenient, too round, too “pat” $2 million estimate.  And his or her boss, too.

Wait For It: If They Get Contempt of Court, It’s Three!

A 42 year old man and a 29 year old women were rushing to the airport in Maine, when they were clocked at 108 mph on I-95. They got arrested.

Then they got to the plane, where they became “unruly”. The pilot returned to the gate, where they were arrested and charged with criminal threatening, criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and violation of bail conditions.

Stay tuned. I don’t think this duo is done yet.

File Under “Just In Case”

This is from one of my favorite newspapers in Helena, Montana - The Independent Record.

“After 23 years as an emergency room physician, Dr. Mark Rabold still takes his business seriously but can’t help but wonder in amusement about some of the situations he’s encountered involving rattlesnake bites.

“One of his favorite stories involves an anesthesiologist who had just recently moved to Montana. The guy ran over a rattler with his dirt bike, but the tire spun up the snake, which hit the biker in the stomach and bit him.

“Then there’s the one — Rabold’s had so many patients he can’t remember if he treated this guy or just read about it —where a man was struck by a rattlesnake, and the guy’s buddy tried a home remedy to treat the wound.

“His buddy got the jumper cables and hooked him up to a giant battery for his semi, then fired up the engine. He probably had to put down his beer first to put the clamps on each side of the snake bite,” Rabold said, laughing. “The guy is screaming, yelling and seizing from this treatment; they thought it would somehow break the venom down.

“Someone actually did a study, and found that electric therapy doesn’t work. It’s just an interesting layman’s myth. This guy ended up with third-degree electrical burns.”

Man Loses It, Shoots Lawn Boy

A Milwaukee man was accused of shooting his lawn mower because it wouldn’t start.

 

 

Keith Walendowski, 56, was charged with felony possession of a short-barreled shotgun or rifle and misdemeanor disorderly conduct while armed.

According to the report, Walendowski said he was angry because his Lawn Boy wouldn’t start Wednesday morning. He told police, ‘I can do that, it’s my lawn mower and my yard so I can shoot it if I want.’

The cops disagreed.

A woman who lives at Walendowski’s house reported the incident. She said he was drunk.

Walendowski could face up to an $11,000 fine and six years and three months in prison if convicted.

But, Milwaukee prides itself on being a beer capitol, so if he was snockered on beer, well…

Actually, he has a very nice lawn. It’s just a litte long. But if the cops dig it up looking for murdered tractors or farm implements, it could be ruined.

McCain: “Unfare! Uh, I Mean… UNFAIR!”

Senator John McCain is having a a bad week or two. The latest: The New York Times scribbled all over his draft Op-Ed piece, just like all of his perfussers used to do back at the Boat School … uh, the Naval Academy.

One can imagine John fuming, “What do they think I was, a STUDENT?!”

Senator Obama wrote an Op-Ed piece for the Times last week, and it was published. McCain’s staff fired off a rebuttal piece, but the Times Opinion Page Editor, David Shipley, rejected it. “I’d be very eager to publish the Senator on the oped page. However I’m not going to be able to accept this piece as currently written,” Shipley is said to have written.

McCain has had six or seven Op-Ed’s published by the Times. Just imagine: every time, they must nag him on spelling, sentence structure, and basic grammar. Probably smudges, too; I wouldn’t put it past them. Don’t they know he graduated fifth from the bottom of his class?! How unfair.

Cut him some slack, Shipley!