Old school...

As a Penn State fan, I am also a fan of Joe Paterno, known affectionately as Joe-Pa to those who adore him. This year, he was one second away from a perfect season, after seven combined wins in the past two years. A friend of mine passed this article along to me, highlighting the circumstances surrounding the University administration asking him to step down at the end of last year. It offers a good read and good insight into a decent man, who still defines old-school.

Go Penn State. Go Joe.

Find the lost....

I just finished reading Assassination Vacation by NPR commentator Sarah Vowell. Whetther or you agree with her politics or not, it is a very interesting read as she tours the Assassination sites of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield and McKinley.

One of the more interesting things to come out the book was Find a Grave, which enables you to look up the final resting places of famous people (T.S. Eliot is in Somerset, England), or to do a search of your area to find out who's close (Fred Rogers, Betsy Ross and Jim Thorpe, for me).

What we all want...

...is a little more time, perhaps to spend with family and friends. Guesss what? All those wishes are about to come true, with the addition of a Leap Second. Apparently, we've been spinning a little slower the last couple of years, so now we get an extra second. You might want to think about how you're going to use yours...

Merry Christmas....

...what do you get for the person who has everything? Here's an interesting idea...

CRIKEY!!!

According to this report, Crocodiles are now the number one predator in Zimbabwe, taking over from elephants.

Crocodiles dragged away and ate 13 people -- including children -- in the first 10 months of 2005, according to the Communal Areas Management Program for Indigenous Resources, known as Campfire.

Elephants charged and trampled 12 others, including some villagers trying to protect their crops from the giant herbivores, who eat an average 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of fodder a day as adults, the group said in its annual report.

Still, before you cancel your travel plans, consider this report, and realize you're probably safer trying to push an elephant into a river in Zimbabwe than you are in our nation's capitol.

I'll take the crocodiles, just don't put me in those stupid shorts.

What's your Christmas name?

Find out here.

Simply the Best....

So, you want to live in the best country in the world, huh? Guess what? You're going to have to pack your bags and move. According to this report, you could actually choose 11 other countries to improve your options (I personally disagree with Norway as a selection...I can't imagine they collected the data in early February).

So who is number one? My people, of course.

Philadelphia Icon For Sale

Check out this auction, if you have a million dollars and a desire to have your own Rocky Balboa statue.

Now the question...where to put it? I'd like to get one of the other two out there as well, and put them in front of my driveway, flanking the entrance to my house.

Paddy wins again...

Your joke of the day:


Three Irishmen and three Englishmen are traveling by train. At the station, the three Englishmen each buy a ticket and watch as the three Irishmen buy just one ticket. "How are the three of you going to travel on only one ticket?" asks one of the Englishmen.

"Watch and learn," answers one of the men from the Ireland.

They all board the train. The three Englishmen take their respective seats but all three Irishmen cram into a toilet together and close the door. Shortly after the train has departed, the conductor comes around collecting tickets. He knocks on the toilet door and says, "Ticket please." The door opens just a crack and a single arm emerges with a ticket in hand. The conductor takes it and moves on.

The Englishmen see this happen and agree it was quite a clever idea, so after the game, they decide to do the same thing on the return trip and save some money. When they get to the station, they buy a single ticket for the return trip, but see, to their astonishment, that the three Irishmen don't buy any ticket at all.

"How are you going to travel without a ticket?" says one perplexed Englishmen. "Watch and learn," answer the Irishmen.

When they board the train the three Englishmen cram themselves into a toilet and the three Irishmen cram into another toilet just down the way. Shortly after the train is on its way, one of the Irishmen leaves their toilet and walks over to the toilet in which the Englishmen are hiding.

The Irishmen knocks on their door and says, "Ticket please".

Where's Waldo?

My friend Lou was talking about geography, which reminded me of this test. See if you're smart enough to pass third grade.

Pennsylvania football...

...it's a hard year to be a football fan in PA. Penn State got a BCS bid to the RipOff Bowl, Pittsburgh pretty much sealed their fate with a loss to the Cincinatti Bengals (remember when they were the punchline to a joke?) and my beloved Eagles have officially imploded on a grand scale, laying the grandest of Monday Night eggs, a 42-0 blowout loss at home.

The fact that the Eagles laid this particular egg on the night when Reggie White's number 92 was retired is an insult to the man and his legacy. The things I remember about White are his strength, his spirit, and that the man never quit....EVER. He got sacks where he was crawling on all fours toward the QB, like some gridiron Terminator.

I miss having Reggie around. More than that, as an Eagles fan, I miss having his spirit around.

Politicians roasting, on an open fire...

Lately in Pennsylvania, there has been no shortage of reasons to roast politicians, with late night voting, pay raises, and skirting the Constitution. That being said, this report found an interesting new reason to be peeved, when it took an intriguing look at Pennsylvania's Ghost Voting (you have to click on the video to the right).

Let he who is without sin, throw the next switch...

Apparently we are not going to get to 1,000 death row inmates executed since Gary Gilmour said, "Let's do it." His execution in 1977 began the current spree, and today we have executed 999 people, with Robin Lovitt in Virginia scheduled to be the 1,000th. His execution was stayed by Governor Mark Warner, and commuted to a life sentence.

People ask me about it, and I tell them I'm against the death penalty. I know Christians that are for it. I don't understand that, but they are. I think execution is a simple answer to a complex problem. As a Christian, I think it misses the central point of punishment, which is correction, and ultimately redemption.