Then and Now

The Story: While visiting a Pashtun refugee camp in Pakistan, photographer Steve McCurry snapped a pic of a 13-year old orphan with hauntingly beautiful eyes. The image made the cover of a 1984 National Geographic, and the girl became an international celebrity. Well, sort of. Despite securing a great shot, McCurry never took down the girl’s name, and despite taking more than 10 trips back to the region to locate her, it would be another 17 years before she was tracked down.The Post-Puberty Report: Now a wife and mother of three, Sharbat Gula lives in a remote village in Afghanistan. She lives in purdah, and while only female reporters were allowed to visit and photograph her for National Geographic’s long awaited follow-up, supposedly she’s now “being looked after” by the magazine. Of course, as the BBC reports, the most amazing part is that she hates the iconic photo. She never liked the red scarf she was photographed in, she doesn’t like media attention, and has since moved to avoid future interviews.

From www.mentalfloss.com

Sounds to me that she has the credentials to become US VP...

Another reason not to fly the friendly skies

From:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Passengers were forced to push the plane they had been travelling on along the runway after its engine failed.

By Our Foreign Staff Last Updated: 3:01AM BST 27 Sep 2008
Those travelling on a Chinese Shandong airlines flight were asked to get out and push when their plane broke down after landing.
The CRJ7 plane with 69 passengers and seven aircrew flying from Guilin in the south of China to Zhengzhou broke down before it could taxi to the arrivals terminal. It had travelled 500 miles before the engine failed on the runway.
Airport staff were called out to push, but needed the passengers' help because it would not budge.
It took nearly two hours to push the jet the half mile to a side lane.
"Thank God it was only a 20-ton medium-sized plane," said one of the airport workers. "If it were a big plane, it would have knocked us out."

Don't laugh...these are the same people who keep lending us money...

Lard lumps wash ashore in New Zealand

Waikanae Beach resident and shopkeeper Sue Wilkie discovered a large, white, barnacle-covered object at the water's edge while walking her dog yesterday morning.
"It really stood out. At first I thought it was an old float covered in barnacles.
"When I got up to it I thought it was concrete, but when I looked around the other side it was greasy and crumbly, just like the lump found at Breaker Bay.
"My German shepherd Bella was attracted to it, gave it a good sniff but backed off fast."

After the first lump was reported at Wellington's Breaker Bay at the weekend, opportunists tore into it, hoping it might be ambergris, a valuable spit or vomit excretion from sperm whales that is used in perfume. But it now seems more likely to be tallow or lard.
"It was awful, like rancid fat or lard."

I think it is a pork barrel!

Lightyear Flight McCanelled

Update on human Buzz Lightyear: Ives Rossy's strap-on wing flight over the British Channel had to be cancelled today. I think weather was the problem...at least Ives had a good excuse.

Update on Friday: Rossy's flight was a success this morning. He took off from France and landed (picture) by the white cliffs of Dover, England. The apparatus is now being shipped to Mississippi, USA so McCain can quickly get back to DC for banking negotiations after the political debate.

Indian Street Trickery Needed on Wall Street

DUTCH magician Ramana has been doing his best to freak out American people by levitating in Times Square and in front of the White House.
The illusionist, real name Wouter Bijdendijk, hovered several feet above the pavement with apparent ease. His only "prop" was a stick that he held with his left hand. Watch a video of Ramana levitating and talking outside the White House here. A household name in his native Netherlands, Ramana has performed for Queen Beatrix and has been honoured in India with the Golden Cloth award, the highest cultural honour ever given to a westerner, metro.co.uk reported. "This is an art," he said. "And in India, they see it also as a science. I hope I make people wonder," Ramana said. Ramana's repertoire also includes "flying" up to 10 metres above ground, mind reading and other forms of Indian street trickery.

As found on: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22647582-5012895,00.html

The economy is melting down quicker than the Artic sea ice...I think it might take some 'Indian street trickery' to get us out of this mess...

Dwarf Status

To celebrate the anniversary of the finding of Neptune in 1846, this would be a good day to sign the Pluto Petition, saying that you believe Pluto should be reinstated as a planet and not just a dwarf planet according to the 2006 Prague Conference of astronomers.

www.plutopetiton.com

Was Tom Thumb any less of a human than you or I?

The headline below was also on this site:

Scientists Say Knicks Are No Longer a Basketball TeamPrague Conference Demotes New York Team to Dwarf Status

I wonder if season tickets are any cheaper now...

Happy Birthday Norman

Happy 51st Birthday Norm.........

Beam me up, Scotty

A contributor to www.coasttocoastam.com submitted this photo of his uncle talking on a cell phone in 1947 (the guy on the very left). No, you fool, it's not your uncle! It's an 'Away Team' from the USS Enterprise landing on the Earth after some kind of time warp. It's Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and McCoy (with the cigarette in his mouth). They have just saved a small boy from being fatally hit by a car and Kirk is calling up to the Enterprise to see if they have changed the time/space continuum. The response, "That 13 year old boy you have just saved will now grow up to be ruler of the free world circa 2009...the time/space continuum has been changed...oh, my God, we're all Klingons now......."

Broccoli vs. Mooseburgers

When Barack (actually it was an Aide) asked me if I could steam him (Barack) some broccoli, I said, "Could I suggest sushi?"

Soho
My favorite sushi bar in downtown Cedar Falls. We got crab dip with fried pita pieces, a tiger roll (crab, eel, avocado, cucumber), a crunchy calamari roll (with carrots and cucs), and tempura calamari. We had already consumed the tempura asparagus when I decided I needed to take the above picture (I pretended to be reading a text message-stealthy, huh?) of what became one of my favorite meals this year. I think the only other meal I have taken a picture of was my first home cooked meal in Morocco by Omar's mother...colorful, exotic, with unfamiliar aromas and back when we only had bag phones.

And tonight as I was eating, I thought to myself, "I wonder if Sarah Palin has ever ate sushi or couscous or a good Irish stew (oh, wait a minute...that was only a refueling stop)?"

Line of Succession

I was actually trying to find some info on what would happen if John McCain would die before the general election (would Hucklebee be the candidate or Palin). Found this first and thought interesting. From www.mentalfloss.com:

If something were to happen to the President today…
The current line of succession is:
The Vice President - Dick Cheney
Speaker of the House - Nancy Pelosi
President pro tempore of the Senate - Robert Byrd
Secretary of State - Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of the Treasury - Henry Paulson
Secretary of Defense - Robert Gates
Attorney General - Michael Mukasey
Secretary of the Interior - Dirk Kempthorne
Secretary of Agriculture - Edward T. Schafer
Secretary of Commerce - Carlos Gutierrez
Secretary of Labor - Elaine Chao
Secretary of Health and Human Services - Mike Leavitt
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Steven C. Preston
Secretary of Transportation - Mary E. Peters
Secretary of Energy - Samuel Bodman
Secretary of Education - Margaret Spellings
Secretary of Veterans Affairs - James Peake
Secretary of Homeland Security - Michael Chertoff

The government is just very careful about keeping everyone in the line from being in the same place at the same time. For events that all persons in the line usually attend – the State of the Union address, joint sessions of Congress, presidential inaugurations – one member of the cabinet eligible for the presidency is selected as the designated survivor and hidden in an undisclosed location for the duration of the event. In case disaster strikes, the designated survivor will be able to take charge.

Succession law also doesn’t provide any direction for a situation where a former president ineligible to serve another term is in the line of succession (if they don’t close that loophole, it’s a great way for Slick Willy to sneak back into office).

Beachfront Property

Click image to enlarge.

Oblique aerial photography of Bolivar Peninsula, TX, on September 9, 2008 (top) and September 15, 2008, two days after landfall of Hurricane Ike (bottom).

Looks like there was a lot of water around to start with just now the beach extends inwards a few blocks.

The yellow arrow marks the feature that appears in both images.

My Grizzly Bear Friends

While I'm on the subject of bears, I found this on CNN:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The majestic grizzly bear, once king of the Western wilderness but threatened with extinction for a third of a century, has roared back in Montana.

The finding, from a $4.8 million, five-year study of grizzly bear DNA criticized by Republican presidential candidate John McCain as pork barrel spending, could help ease restrictions on oil and gas drilling, logging and other development. How ironic...

McCain, in stump speeches and in an advertisement earlier this year, erroneously said the study cost $3 million, adding "I don't know if it was a paternity issue or criminal, but it was a waste of money."
The study was backed by Montana ranchers, farmers and Republican leaders as a step toward taking the species off the endangered species list. Since 1975, the bear has been threatened in the lower 48 states, a status that bars hunting and restricts any kind of development that could diminish the bear's population.
"If it is going to remove it from the list, it is money well spent," said former Montana Gov. Judy Martz, a Republican, McCain supporter, and backer of the research. When asked about McCain's stance, Martz said "unless you live among these issues it is pretty hard to understand what is going on."
Former Sen. Conrad Burns, the chairman of McCain's campaign in Montana, helped secure the funding. It was paid in part through add-ons to the U.S. Geological Survey budget, and a $1.1 million earmark for the Forest Service in 2004.

I guess the true irony about the whole bear issue, specifically the polar bear, is that the Alaskan government (who is suing the National government because they put the polar bear on the endangered species list), will need an earmark to study the creature in order to get it OFF the endangered list so oil drilling can be expanded. Maybe this time the earmark will not be considered pork barrel spending. The polar bear is also on another list. A list that is only looked at or maybe noted by a diabetic or someone who watches someone shoot themselves up with insulin four times a day in order to stay alive (that would be me). For some reason, the female polar bear is resistant to diabetes. Studies are needed to research this resistance and maybe someday that research can be applied to humans...

Happy Birthday Biskit

Happy Birthday Biskit.
I nearly forgot my granddaughters
birthday. What a cutie. Your still a
young gal and have many more days
ahead.

Biskit's Big Day

"I got my toys here behind me, a little shade from the plant that I like to chew on to get attention, a nice soft oversized pillow AND I sold my stocks yesterday. What else could a girl ask for on her 10th birthday?"

Stocks to go Haywire

The Stock Market on Monday will probably cause some window jumping. It may also cause some unwarranted business mergers:

FedEx is expected to join up with its major competitor UPS and become FedUP

Knott's Berry Farm and the National Organization for Women will become Knott NOW

3M will merge with Goodyear and issue forth as MMMGood

and finally

Zippo Manufacturing, Audi Motors, Mountain Dew and Dakota Minnng will merge and become ZipAudiDewDa

Or at least that's what my Old Farmer's 2008 Almanac says.

Seriously though, after tomorrow I'll probably be working for Pizza Hut (NPC) part of Bank of America.

Update from NPC CEO: Since May 2006, we have been owned by Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity - a very small arm of Merrill Lynch & Co. Our business is not ran by ML&Co, nor is dependent upon its success. We are separately capitalized and not in any way directly affected by the happenings of ML&Co, including this pending sale to Bank of America.

Ebola Virus vs. Ike

This is a microscopic Ebola virus. If infected, it has a 90% fatality rate. Many books on the subject (the Hot Zone) and movies (Outbreak) came out about Ebola virus 10 years ago. The CDC studies viruses like these in Level 4 laboratories that I call bio-containment rooms. Anthrax is a lethal bacteria studied in Level 4 labs.

Now lets say that you have a Level 4 lab (I'm having trouble with colors) right in the path of a cat 3 hurricane--what do you do?

1. inform the general public (were you aware of this?)

2. destroy all viruses and run for your life? or

3. take some samples (because they are so rare) with you, evacuate, tell the general public they have been destroyed and then later sell them on the black market to radical militant groups.

This is what is finally being reported by CNN pertaining to the Level 4 lab in Galveston, Texas:

"The pathogens, which include the deadly Ebola virus, were purposely destroyed before the staff left the facility in advance of the hurricane, said Gov. Rick Perry's spokesman, Andrew Barlow.

However, a former student who worked at the Level-III laboratory while the Level-IV facility was being constructed and who knows the manager, said she would be surprised if all of the pathogens had been destroyed, since some of them are rare and extremely valuable."

I was hoping CNN would expand on this but they have kind of left us in the dark. Your guess is as good as mine...

Yikes, it's Ike

The destruction of Galveston in 1900 after a cat 4 (unnamed) came through town. A 17 foot sea wall was erected afterwards to protect it from another storm. I just heard, however, that they are expecting up to a 22 foot surge. Houston is in Ike's path but did not have it's modern shipping channel in 1900 nor was it the 4th largest city in the US...this will get interesting before morning...

Memories of 911

A day no one will ever forget.
A doppler image from Sept 11, 2001 and the memorial lights from the site of the Twin Towers that will shine tonight.
Mom and I visited the site about a month after the collapse as Bubba was born. It was a day of emotions and deep thought. I am still trying to comprehend the polices and practices of our country that produced the anger and hate it took to bring these structures down and take so many innocent lives. I have only been out of the country twice since 911: the Netherlands, Spain, and a few Caribbean countries. Things weren't the same...I wasn't welcomed like before...didn't know if I wanted to advertise my citizenship. This, all before we invaded Iraq so I can imagine what it's like now. Kind of makes you think twice... Regardless, I renewed my passport when Obama was ahead in the polls. Now, I fear I won't need it for a few more years...as if they want my dollar anyway...

Omar's Transformation

Deb sent me a bunch of pictures today. This one is my favorite. Don't really know what's going on here...but it made me chuckle.

Happy Birthday Nola

Here's the birthday gal. Happy Birthday Nola.

Human Buzz Lightyear

Swiss professional pilot Yves Rossy is the world's first man to fly with fitted jet-fuel powered wings strapped to his back
If all goes well, he will be the first man in history to cross the Channel as a human jet. If it does not go according to plan, he could find himself floating in the busiest shipping lane in the world. Or worse.
But having jumped out of more planes with more strange contraptions attached to him than almost anyone alive (or dead), Yves is full of confidence.
Not only will he have three parachutes on his back but, just the other day, he managed to fly the same distance as the Channel using his latest prototype and land safely.
However, on that occasion, he was flying over his native Switzerland, where he did not have to worry about oil tankers and tides.
'If I calculate everything right, I will land in Dover - but if I get it wrong, I take a bath,' he says cheerfully when we meet at his suburban home outside Geneva. 'So I must ask the Big Bird up above in Heaven to help me.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1052889/The-human-Buzz-Lightyear--The-man-cross-Channel-wing-prayer.html

When will these things be on the market? Might make the trip to Tama faster...wonder if they come equipped with satellite radio?

Caribou Barbie

Comes with everything you see here:

- Dead Caribou
- M-16
- Snowmobile
- Sexy Librarian Glasses

She even talks with such fun phrases like:
- "I'm a pitbull with lipstick!"
- "My family is off-limits!"
- "What is it the Vice President actually does?"

Coming soon: Bristol Palin with inflatable baby bump and John McCain with portable green screen background!

Neat Christmas Gift...from www.collegeotr.com. CollegeOTR is the country's premiere college blog, capturing the best of everything that happens at college.

Hurricane Trivia

I'm looking at this map of the routes of the major hurricanes to hit Florida since 1851 and it appears to me that a vast number of paths intersect right over Magic Kingdom. If this map is any indication of future paths, Disney may want to fortify that big EPCOT ball-thing with some 'crete'. Below is a list of Atlantic storm names. They are in French, English or Spanish for the areas that Atlantic storms hit these are the languages spoken. (someday the names will probably only be Spanish/French as there will be no English speaking peoples in the Atlantic areas)

2008 Arthur, Bertha, Cristobal, Dolly, Edouard, Fay, Gustav, Hanna, Ike, Josephine, Kyle, Laura, Marco, Nana, Omar, Paloma, Rene, Sally, Teddy, Vicky, Wilfred

And to think I thought Paloma was a cancerous foot disease.

Lori and Friends

Lori and two of her Air Force girlfriends meet for breakfast at Cracker Barrel in late August!

Second Lady Occupations

I found an interesting tidbit of information tonight. This website listed some of the occupations of Vice Presidents' wives before becoming Second Ladies. The writer of this column is an alumni of Iowa State.

9. I have to mention Ilo Brown Wallace, the 33rd Second Lady of the U.S., because she was from Iowa – Indianola, to be exact. Before she was living large in Washington, she was the co-founder of Hi-Bred Corn Company in 1926. She and her husband used money she had inherited from her parents to start it. It’s now Pioneer Hi-Bred International, the world’s second-largest seed company.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/

I believe my first paycheck came from Pioneer.

Nothing like detasseling mile long corn rows...

My Polar Bear Friends

Since 2002, many polar bear populations in Alaska have shown increasing signs of stress, including drownings, malnutrition, and cannibalism. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that all polar bears in Alaska may be extinct as early as 2050.

http://www.polarbearsos.org/

I'm usually not an animal activist but as I was doing my homework on McCain's VP pick, I got on this polar bear site (searching Alaska Gov. Palin lead me to Alaska websites). I haven't been on the northern slope lately but from a personal standpoint, the best thing about Alaska isn't the oil, the ice roads or snowmachine races...it's the native culture and natural resources not to mention the Iditarod...the great outdoors and the lack of civilization!!! There seems to be some debate on whether or not to protect this animal. I believe that our current administration has put the polar bear on the endangered species list but is full of loopholes for the oil companies (go figure). I propose that the Alaskan Government start putting up casinos to get away from it's attachment to the oil industry...I hear the revenues are better and the natural resources will not be threatened...