JULY 28TH

***

Today is Monday, July 28, the 210th day of 2008. There are 156 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On July 28, 1945, a U.S. Army bomber crashed into the 79th floor of New York's Empire State Building, killing 14 people.

On this date:

• In 1540, King Henry VIII's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell, was executed, the same day Henry married his fifth wife, Catherine Howard.
• In 1821, Peru declared its independence from Spain.
• In 1868, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, guaranteeing due process of law, was certified in effect by Secretary of State William H. Seward.
• In 1914, World War I began as Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia.
• In 1928, the Olympic games opened in Amsterdam.
• In 1932, federal troops forcibly dispersed the so-called "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans who had gathered in Washington to demand money they weren't scheduled to receive until 1945.
• In 1945, the U.S. Senate ratified the United Nations Charter by a vote of 89-2.
• In 1965, President Johnson announced he was increasing the number of American troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000 "almost immediately."
• In 1977, Roy Wilkins turned over leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to Benjamin L. Hooks.
• In 2002, nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset, Pa., were rescued after 77 hours underground.

Ten years ago:

• During a day of official mourning, President Clinton praised two slain police officers at the U.S. Capitol as heroes whose sacrifice "consecrated this house of freedom."
• General Motors Corp. reached a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers to end an almost two-month-old strike.
• Bell Atlantic and GTE announced a $52 billion merger deal that created Verizon.
• Monica Lewinsky received blanket immunity in exchange for providing "full and truthful testimony" to a grand jury investigating President Clinton.

Five years ago:

• Rebels in Liberia captured Buchanan, the country's second-largest city.

One year ago:

• Vice President Dick Cheney, with a history of heart problems, had surgery to replace an implanted device that was monitoring his heartbeat.

Today's Birthdays:

• Movie director Andrew V. McLaglen is 88.
• Actor Darryl Hickman is 77.
• The former president of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, is 70.
• Rock musician Rick Wright (Pink Floyd) is 65.
• Former Sen. Bill Bradley, D-N.J., is 65.
• "Garfield" creator Jim Davis is 63.
• Singer Jonathan Edwards is 62.
• Actress Linda Kelsey is 62.
• TV producer Dick Ebersol is 61.
• Actress Sally Struthers is 60.
• Actress Georgia Engel is 60.
• Rock musician Simon Kirke (Bad Company) is 59.
• Rock musician Steve Morse (Deep Purple) is 54.
• Broadcast journalist Scott Pelley is 51.
• Actor Michael Hayden is 45.
• Jazz musician-producer Delfeayo Marsalis is 43.
• Actress Elizabeth Berkley is 36.
• Singer Afroman is 34.
• Country musician Todd Anderson (Heartland) is 33.
• Rock singer Jacoby Shaddix (Papa Roach) is 32.
• Country singer Carly Goodwin is 27.
• Actor Dustin Milligan is 23.

Thought for Today:

"He who is learned is not wise; He who is wise is not learned." —
From the Tao (dow) Te Ching, the sacred book of Taoism.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-210

"Let's all be careful out there!"

1,000,000,000,000

AND COUNTING

Thats how many web pages that Google indexes every single day. And there are even more that they ignore.

The first Google index of the web was done in 1998 and generated 26 million pages. In 2000 the index surpassed 1 billion. It is widely acknowledged that Google is the extensive of all the search engines and yet people are hinting that next week there is going to be some big announcement in that field.

The easiest way to explain how Google works is that it follows links from one website to another. The more incoming links that a website has the higher its status in the index. If someone had a stand alone page with no inbound or outbound links, it would be virtually invisible. Think of Google as being a roadmap of one trillion intersections on the web.

Starting in 2010, California will become the first state to ban the use of trans-fats in its 88,000 plus restaurants. The one exception will be "packaged foods".

According to an as yet unpublished report by a professor from Rice University, it could be hazardous to your family's health to have granite counter tops. Something to do with the release of radon gas, a known cancer risk factor. After all the money and effort of installing granite counters and floors, I doubt anyone is going to remove them.

Bloomberg and Gates join forces to reduce the use of tobacco:


Fires continue to consume California:


While all areas are under scrutiny, special attention is being paid to the oxygen bottles on that Qantas 747 that made an emergency descent and landing over the weekend. In fact, all of Qantas' fleet are having the O₂ canisters checked.

Jimmy Soares took a hoe,
Gave his father 40 blows.
When the job was neatly done,
He gave his mother 41.
And in a final insane fit,
He tossed them in
The cesspool pit.

Yesterday's NASCAR race at the "Brickyard" was a complete fiasco.

The Goodyear Tires being used couldn't make more than 10 laps before losing all their rubber. Did Firestone get out of the racing business?

I know NASCAR is a "good ol' boy" operation, but isn't it stupid to have only one source of rubber?


Obama does a short, modified version of 'The Grand Tour" and dominates our national news. McCain meets with the Dalai Lama and the only people who even take notice are the Chinese. Who weren't very happy.



A melee involving 200 people in most of the world would be classified as a riot. In the States, its just a minor disturbance or a brawl, at the most.

Oh, just to be official, at 8:50 pm PDT tonight, my son officially turns 40. He had a great party on Saturday night with about 75 people in attendence. Do you know how hard it is to look at someone and realize you haven't seen them for over 20 years? You brain is scrambling to rearrange faces, eyes and voices to conform (and confirm) who is before you. A lot of these "kids" I hadn't seen since they were teens and now they are grandparents. You know you are getting old when your kids, and their friends, all look middle aged.

If nothing changes, the daughter is taking me and her boys to the county fair tonight. I'll try and get some pics.

And a new week begins while another month comes to an end. Thanks for your visit and hope to see you all again real soon.


"Let's all be careful out there!"

FIREFLY - SAFE (episode 05)

I have moved all my Firefly episodes to my other blog.

Just click here.

These episodes are now independent of the Hulu feed and will not continuously disappear.


"Let's all be careful out there!"

JULY 27TH

***

Today is Sunday, July 27, the 209th day of 2008. There are 157 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 27, 1789, President Washington signed a measure establishing the Department of Foreign Affairs, forerunner of the Department of State.
On this date:

• In 1694, the Bank of England received a royal charter as a commercial institution.
• In 1794, French revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre was overthrown and placed under arrest; he was executed the following day.
• In 1861, Union Gen. George B. McClellan took command of the Army of the Potomac.
• In 1866, Cyrus W. Field finished laying out the first successful underwater telegraph cable between North America and Europe. (A previous cable in 1858 burned out after only a few weeks of use.)
• In 1953, the Korean War armistice was signed at Panmunjom, ending three years of fighting.
• In 1960, Vice President Richard M. Nixon was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in Chicago.
• In 1967, in the wake of urban rioting, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the Kerner Commission to assess the causes of the violence, the same day black militant H. Rap Brown said in Washington that violence was "as American as cherry pie."
• In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee voted 27-11 to adopt the first of three articles of impeachment against President Nixon, charging he had personally engaged in a course of conduct designed to obstruct justice in the Watergate case.
• In 1980, on day 267 of the Iranian hostage crisis, the deposed Shah of Iran died at a military hospital outside Cairo, Egypt, at age 60.
• In 1996, terror struck the Atlanta Olympics as a pipe bomb exploded at Centennial Olympic Park, killing one person and injuring 111. (Anti-government extremist Eric Rudolph later pleaded guilty to the bombing.)

Ten years ago:

• President Clinton held a town meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., on the future of Social Security, during which he expressed skepticism about proposals to privatize part of the Social Security trust fund.
• Monica Lewinsky spent five hours being interviewed by prosecutors in New York in a possible prelude to an immunity deal.

Five years ago:

• Comedian Bob Hope died in Toluca Lake, Calif., at age 100.
• Lance Armstrong won a record-tying fifth straight title in the Tour de France.

One year ago:

• The House sent President Bush legislation to intensify anti-terror efforts in the U.S., carrying out major recommendations of the independent 9/11 Commission.
• Former Qwest Communications chief Joe Macchio was sentenced to six years in prison for illegally selling $52 million in stock while not telling investors that his telecommunications company faced serious financial risks.
• Two Phoenix news helicopters collided and crashed while covering a police chase on live television, killing four people on board.

Today's Birthdays:

• TV producer Norman Lear is 86.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer Harvey Fuqua is 79.
• Actor Jerry Van Dyke is 77.
• Sportscaster Irv Cross is 69.
• Actor John Pleshette is 66.
• Singer Bobbie Gentry is 64.
• Actress-director Betty Thomas is 60.
• Olympic gold medal figure skater Peggy Fleming is 60.
• Actor Maury Chaykin is 59.
• Singer Maureen McGovern is 59.
• Actress Janet Eilber is 57.
• Actress Roxanne Hart is 56.
• Country musician Duncan Cameron (Sawyer Brown) is 52.
• Comedian Bill Engvall is 51.
• Jazz singer Karrin Allyson is 46.
• Country singer Stacy Dean Campbell is 41.
• Rock singer Juliana Hatfield is 41.
• Actor Julian McMahon is 40.
• Comedian Maya Rudolph is 36.
• Singer-songwriter Pete Yorn is 34.
• Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers is 31.
• Singer Cheyenne Kimball is 18.

Thought for Today:

"Verily, when the day of judgment comes, we shall not be asked what we have read, but what we have done."
Thomas a Kempis, German theologian (1380-1471).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-209

"Let's all be careful out there!"

ITS CALLED THE

"TRUMAN SHOW DELUSION"

A mental disorder where people think their lives are part of some global reality TV show. I think I suffered from that once, but the show was cancelled after the first episode. Poor ratings.

"What a tangled web we weave..."
Conspiracy theories find life on-line.

For 80 years, every hour on the hour, the war monument clock in Galashiels, Scotland has chimed. Until Ann Tozer, who owns a B&B a short distance from the clock, filed a noise complaint. Now it is silenced. Bet she is popular with the rest of the townfolk.


Here in the States, its not uncommon for a judge to have a firearm concealed under his/her robes. And nobody really gives it a second thought. The British aren't quite as understanding when one of theirs is found to have a knife.

"Anything not factory recommended would void the warranty." You mean like blowing the shit out of your lawnmower with a shotgun and handgun?

Wanna bet that visitor rates increase at the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas after this.

I guess these teen "bad guys" have never watched The Wire.

It may be that diamonds are not just a girl's best friend.

Hospital rules:

• No smoking.
• No cell phones.
• and for the love of all that is holy, leave your grenades at home.

You know, the life of a crook isn't as easy as you might think. Why don't the victims just follow the script?

French prankster Rémi Gaillard is famous for sneaking his way into professional sporting events. Now he's showing his soccer skills in a video called "Urban Soccer".

He is GOOD! Watch the video:


Urban Soccer - More amazing video clips are a click away

Okay. Got this edited up before my son's 40th birthday party started. Hope it satisfactory. Enjoy your Sunday and mahalo for coming by.

"
Let's all be careful out there!"

FIREFLY - SHINDIG (episode 04)

I have moved all my Firefly episodes to my other blog.

Just click here.

These episodes are now independent of the Hulu feed and will not continuously disappear.


"Let's all be careful out there!"

JULY 26TH

***

Today is Saturday, July 26, the 208th day of 2008. There are 158 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On July 26, 1908, U.S. Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte issued an order creating a force of special agents that was a forerunner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On this date:

• In 1775, Benjamin Franklin became Postmaster-General.
• In 1788, New York became the 11th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
• In 1856, playwright Bernard Shaw was born in Dublin, Ireland.
• In 1945, Winston Churchill resigned as Britain's prime minister after his Conservatives were soundly defeated by the Labour Party. (Clement Attlee became the new prime minister.)
• In 1947, President Truman signed the National Security Act.
• In 1952, Argentina's first lady, Eva Peron, died in Buenos Aires at age 33.
• In 1956, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal.
• In 1958, Britain's Prince Charles, age 9, was made the Prince of Wales by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, although his investiture did not take place until the following year.
• In 1971, Apollo 15 was launched from Cape Kennedy, Fla.
• In 1986, kidnappers in Lebanon released the Rev. Lawrence Martin Jenco, an American hostage held for nearly 19 months.

Ten years ago:

• The White House said President Clinton's lawyers were working with prosecutor Kenneth Starr to avert Clinton's direct testimony to a grand jury about the Monica Lewinsky case. (The president ended up testifying via closed-circuit television.)
• AT&T and British Telecommunications PLC announced they were forming a joint venture that would combine their international operations and develop a new Internet system. (The joint venture, known as Concert, proved a money-loser and was shut down.)

Five years ago:

• Backers of a drive to oust California Gov. Gray Davis held a boisterous celebration at the state Capitol in Sacramento, more than two months before the Oct. 7 recall election.
• Cuba celebrated the 50th anniversary of the start of Fidel Castro's revolution against Fulgencio Batista.
• New York Times music critic Harold C. Schonberg died in New York at age 87.

One year ago:

• The Senate passed, 85-8, a measure intensifying anti-terror efforts in the U.S.
• Wall Street suffered one of its worst losses of 2007, closing down more than 310 points.

Today's Birthdays:

• Actress Marjorie Lord is 90.
• Movie director Blake Edwards is 86.
• Actor James Best is 82.
• Rhythm-and-blues singer-songwriter Bobby Hebb is 70.
• Singer Dobie Gray is 68.
• Actress-singer Darlene Love is 67.
• Singer Brenton Wood is 67.
• Rock star Mick Jagger is 65.
• Movie director Peter Hyams is 65.
• Actress Helen Mirren is 63.
• Rock musician Roger Taylor (Queen) is 59.
• Actress Susan George is 58.
• Actor Kevin Spacey is 49.
• Rock singer Gary Cherone is 47.
• Actress Sandra Bullock is 44.
• Rock singer Jim Lindberg (Pennywise) is 43.
• Actor Jeremy Piven is 43.
• Rapper-reggae singer Wayne Wonder is 42.
• Actor Cress Williams is 38.
• Actress Kate Beckinsale is 35.
• Rock musician Dan Konopka (OK Go) is 34.
• Gospel/Contemporary Christian singer Rebecca St. James is 31.
• Christian rock musician Jamie Sharpe (Rush of Fools) is 19.

Thought for Today:

"One brave deed makes no hero."
John Greenleaf Whittier, American poet and essayist (1807-1892).

"Let's all be careful out there!"

DAILY CHUCKLE 8-208

"Let's all be careful out there!"

WHY COULDN'T POLITICAL CONTESTS

ALL BE AS EYE CATCHING AS THIS?



Boy Bites Dog and wins. Against a pitbull, no less.

Lets face it, the British cuisine is not noted by most world travelers as being the best (save their delicious fish'n'chips). So when food critics in the London papers give your new eatery a thumbs down, you might be really busy.

The guy on the left has been running a con in the Austin TX area. Claims to be the grandson of ol blue eyes.

I don't see any resemblance. Do you?

He was arrested and his boots ain't gonna be a'walkin' for awhile.


Exactly one year, to the day, apart. Same suspect. Same police department. Same high-speed pursuit. Same end result. "Here, Elroy. Hold my beer and watch this.".

Your home is featured on national TV. The show's producer pays off your mortgage and gives you $100,000 in cash. So, why is the bank foreclosing?

IRS issues stimulus check to man deceased for over one year. It didn't work. Hes still dead

43 year old woman arrested for running nude in park. Part of a "Truth or Dare" game with teen boys. We can all breath easier. She isn't a teacher.

Now I can sleep a lot easier. Turns out that UFOs and aliens are really fallen angels sent by Satan to test Christian faith. Nice to get that all cleared up.

Norfolk &%$#-in' VA to @#$&-in' rescind %&@#$mn anti-profanity ordinance.

State trooper does news interview about idiot drivers on I-10. Idiot driver offers a demonstration.

Thanks for coming over. Have a great weekend.

"Let's all be careful out there!"

FIREFLY - BUSHWACKED (episode 03)

I have moved all my Firefly episodes to my other blog.

Just click here.

These episodes are now independent of the Hulu feed and will not continuously disappear.


"Let's all be careful out there!"

JULY 25TH

Today is Friday, July 25, the 207th day of 2008. There are 159 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

• On July 25, 1956, the Italian liner Andrea Doria collided with the Swedish passenger ship Stockholm off the New England coast late at night and began sinking; at least 51 people were killed. (The Andrea Doria sank the following day, some 11 hours after the crash.)

On this date:

• In 1866, Ulysses S. Grant was named General of the Army of the United States, the first officer to hold the rank.
• In 1868, Congress passed an act creating the Wyoming Territory.
• In 1943, Benito Mussolini was dismissed as premier of Italy by Victor Emmanuel III, and placed under arrest. (However, Mussolini was later rescued by the Nazis, and re-asserted his authority.)
• In 1946, the United States detonated an atomic bomb near Bikini Atoll in the Pacific in the first underwater test of the device.
• In 1952, Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the United States.
• In 1957, Tunisia became a republic.
• In 1963, the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain initialed a treaty in Moscow prohibiting the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in space or underwater.
• In 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the first "test tube baby," was born in Oldham, England; she'd been conceived through the technique of in-vitro fertilization.
• In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein signed a declaration at the White House ending their countries' 46-year-old formal state of war.
• In 2000, a New York-bound Air France Concorde crashed outside Paris shortly after takeoff, killing all 109 people on board and four people on the ground; it was the first-ever crash of the supersonic jet.

Ten years ago:

• Two government officials revealed that special prosecutor Kenneth Starr had subpoenaed President Clinton to testify before a federal grand jury about the Monica Lewinsky case.
• The U.S. Capitol was reopened, a day after a gunman killed two police officers.

Five years ago:

• President Bush ordered U.S. troops into position off the coast of Liberia to support the arrival of a West African peacekeeping force, as renewed violence in the capital brought despairing pleas for American help.
• President Bush received Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas at the White House.
• Movie director John Schlesinger died in Palm Springs, Calif., at age 77.

One year ago:

• A presidential commission urged broad changes to veterans' care that would boost benefits for family members helping the wounded, establish an easy-to-use Web site for medical records and overhaul the way disability pay was awarded.
• The bullet-riddled body of one of 23 South Koreans held hostage in Afghanistan by Taliban kidnappers was found; eight other captives were released.
• Congress Party stalwart Pratibha Patil was sworn in as India's first female president.

Today's Birthdays:

• Actress Estelle Getty is would have been 85. She passed on the 22nd.
  
• Actress Barbara Harris is 73.
• Rock musician Verdine White (Earth, Wind & Fire) is 57.
• Singer-musician Jem Finer (The Pogues) is 53.
• Model-actress Iman is 53.
• Cartoonist Ray Billingsley ("Curtis") is 51.
• Rock musician Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth) is 50.
• Actress-singer Bobbie Eakes is 47.
• Actress Katherine Kelly Lang (TV: "The Bold and the Beautiful") is 47.
• Actress Illeana Douglas is 43.
• Country singer Marty Brown is 43.
• Actor Matt LeBlanc is 41.
• Actor D.B. Woodside is 39.
• Actress Miriam Shor is 37.
• Actor James Lafferty (TV: "One Tree Hill") is 23.

Thought for Today:

"The truth is all things seen under the form of eternity."
George Santayana, Spanish-American philosopher (1863-1952).

"Let's all be careful out there!"