Monday, October 31, 2005

A computer that guesses what you're thinking

Visit this site. This was a little freaky--I was thinking Brown Trout and it came up with Rainbow trout. That's close enough for me when you're talking about a computer guessing your thoughts...

Happy Halloween...

Yours truly, as Dr. Octopus....

Thursday, October 27, 2005

The bells...errrr....jackhammers!

Every once in a while, you see something you just can't believe. THIS is one such thing.

Monday, October 24, 2005

Not even sure....

...what to do with this one. So I'll blog it and move on. Have a nice day.

Thursday, October 20, 2005

11 Angry men and...well...you figure it out

I was going through my daily CNN reading and in one of those rare ironies of life, the top headlines were too perfect.

The first story was about emabttled former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. It seems they've issued a warrant for his arrest. But what really got me thinking was the story under it. THIS ONE.

I am just picturing the field day Nancy Grace would have with the trial, should Michael be called as a juror in the Tom DeLay case.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Ehhhhhhh....Brad!

I consider myself a positive, often motivating force, which makes me a target for naysayers and grumps everywhere. Normally, it's easy to brush aside the doom and gloom crew, but occasionally they sneak up on you with humor (that's humour to my Canadian brtohers and sisters). Such was the case with my friend Brad in this post, which I found absolutely hysterical.

For what it's worth, I do find those motivational posters dull and inane. My positive nature doesn't extend to the realm of the banal...with apologies to my friends who have those posters in their offices.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Is it in the Cards?

As a Red Sox and Phillies Phan, I'm long past caring who wins the World Series. At this point, I am just a baseball fan. But, I have to say I've been drawn to the series between the Cardinals and the Astros, in a high-drama baseball kind of way. So, I stayed up and watched the game...all of it. Which is why I have to laugh at my friend Lou, who turned off the game after the Berkman blast put the 'Stros up by two. Or his brother, who, unbelievably, turned the game off when Pujols came up to bat, missing what could quite possibly become the most important single play in franchise history.

Both of them slept through the blast that will make Albert Pujols more of an icon than he aready is. And, let's face it, if the Cardinals go on to win the series, he'll probably be canonized, or something... If it wasn't for the plexiglass at the back of the stadium, the ball could have ended up in Lou's back yard...and he would have woken up today and said, "Who's been playing ball in my backyard?" and thrown the ball in the bin in the garage.

Which brings me to another thought. Every baseball game is 27 outs. Play 'em all. Always.

Friday, October 07, 2005

Weighty fishing issues...

One of the things I love to do is fly fish. The beauty....the majesty...the safety issues of not flyfishing.

I love the picture that comes with this article. One of the things that intrigued me about this was this line:

He is keeping the weight as a souvenir after doctors gave it back to him.

"It's my lucky weight now. I will carry it around with me," said Mr Williams, of Acrefair


When I was about 15 years old, I was running along the beach at dusk on Long Beach Island, New Jersey. My grandmother had a house down there, and I loved to run on the beach. So, I'm running, and I go under this fisherman's fishing pole and he's dragging his line in. As he does this, I feel a slight "bite" in my leg. Thinking it was a horsefly, I gave a quick half-step, to shake it off. It was not a horsefly.

Since it was dusk, the fisherman couldn't see his lure. He had pulled it up and it hit me in the leg. He thought it was still in the surf. When he felt the "tug" he thought it was a bite....so he set the hook. I went down in a hurry, the hook buried into my calf. I tried to back it out, but to no avail, as the barbs had bitten into my flesh....deep.

So I decided to go the rest of the way home. One mile. With the hook in my calf (mom always said, "Don't take rides with strangers!"). In what has to be my greatest John Wayne moment (when he was a tough guy, not when he wussed out and named names...) to date, I gritted my teeth and tried to push the barb out the other side so I could clip it. No dice. It was too dull and would not go through the muscle. So I ended up going to the hospital and getting it cut out.

I saved the lure, a Hopkins #4, and use, to this day, as my key chain. My good luck charm, if ever I had one...

5 minute vacation: Not Madison County

My friend Eric posted this link in response to the bridges post. I never knew Malaysia was so beautiful.

Again, check out THIS bridge...another shot, here.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Amazing bridge....

This is the Milllau Viaduct in France. I don't know about you, but I'm fascinated by construction, especially bridges. This one is the cheese!

Some
Great Picturesof the
Project

...now, how do I get my bike on there...

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

Thinking about the leather...

We all make mistakes...some of them bigger than others.

Monday, October 03, 2005

Another 5 minute vacation...

This one in our nation's capital...

October...I love it!

Herewith, my predictions for the Fall Classic:

First round of the playoffs:
American League:
Yankees v. Angels: I like the Angels in this match up....I really do.....BUT: That having been said, I think the Yankees will win for two reasons: First, they're the freakin' Yankees. Second, they know if they win the get to either face the Red Sox or say they're better than the Red Sox. That's enough for them.

Boston v. ChiSox: My beloved idiots are trying soooooo hard not to implode. They get by the Other Sox, barely, to face off against the Evil Empire.

National League:
Cards v. Padres: Cards. Please. The Padres should just mail it in, like they did with the rest of their season.

Braves v. Astros: Yeeesh! Tough pick, but you have to believe with their momentum and pitching, the Astros are the team to beat, especially in a short series. Plus, in the end, the Braves are inevitably going to be the Braves. Hats off (AGAIN!) to Bobby Freakin' Cox, who would probably make the playoffs with Helen Keller in left field, and one-armed octagenarian playing catcher. As a Phillies fan, I hate him. As a baseball fan, I respect him immensely.

LCS
Boston v. Yankees: BoSox in 6, with just too much firepower.
Astros v. Cards: Astros in 5 with better pitching. Sorry Lou.

The World Series...
Boston v. Astros in the World Series…this is the way it should be: GREAT HITTING against GREAT PITCHING. Give the nod to my beloved Sawks, who've come up big against tough pitching in clutch situations and find a way to claw out on top.