To My Dear JTI Friends,

Somewhat embarrassing to admit, but Christmas is tight this year. I will be making bedroom slippers for you all as gifts. Please let me know your sizes. You'll most likely agree that it's a splendid idea, and should you wish to do the same, I've included the instructions below.

How to make bedroom slippers out of maxi pads:

You need four maxi pads to make a pair.

Two of them get laid out flat, for the foot part.

The other two wrap around the toe area to form the top.

Tape or glue each side of the top pieces to the bottom of the foot part.

Decorate the tops with whatever you desire, silk flowers (this is most aesthetically appealing), etc.

These slippers are:

Soft and Hygienic

Non-slip grip strips on the soles

Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh

No more bending over to mop up spills

Disposable and biodegradable

Environmentally safe

Three convenient sizes: (1.) Regular, (2.) Light and (3.) Get out the Sand Bags.

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I've attached a photo of the first pair I made so that you can see the nifty slippers for yourself....

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Awaiting your response. It's crucial that I get the right size for each one of you.

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Pork Truly Won This Election...

Trouncing another fatty food, Fries.
I honestly thought this was a joke made with one of those sign generators until I looked it up and the Denver Post website confirms the elections was between Bacon and Fries.

'Corpse flower' Webcam

The Milwaukee Public Museum's corpse flower is about to blossom. When it does, they say that the stink can travel for miles. I wonder if we'll be able to smell it in Racine?

"Watch from home and avoid the stench:" http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/33590989.html

Obama Win Causes Obsessed Backers To See How Empty Their Lives Are

From The Onion, America's Finest News Source.

I Thought There Were More Fire Trucks Racing Around Today...

Must be due to the fact that is is National Men Make Dinner Day. And direct from the web site are the Top 10 Reasons to Participate.

10. While cooking, you can still wear your tool belt, simply replace the hammer with a whisk.
9. Several recipes include beer as a legitimate ingredient.
8. The blender, the electric mixer and the food processor are loud enough to drown out anyone in the house who is learning a musical instrument.
7. Whoever is cooking always gets the most attention from the dog.
6. Whatever recipe you choose, you can name it after yourself. Example: tonight’s dinner is called ‘Doug’s Surprise’.
5. Discovering that ‘250 ml’ is the same as ‘8 ounces’ AND ‘1 cup’ is half the fun.
4. Since YOU choose the recipe, it can be a turnip-free night.
3. Some desserts, such as crème brulee, require the use of a propane torch. How much fun is that?!
2. Since other husbands in your neighbourhood are also cooking dinner, ironically this could be the ultimate male bonding experience
1. Participating in ‘National Men Make Dinner Day’ gives you optimum points with your wife. Use those points wisely!

Personally, I would do liquid nitrogen ice cream for dessert!

Our first black President, the 40th

Lost video How I feel about the election

Some Cool Artwork

SER's blog on Don Marco has me inspired for another blog. My mom has the artwork of Bev Doolittle on hung up on her walls. I like her artwork for the fact they are pictures within pictures-camouflaged! Here's a sample of her artwork.

The Battle of Evermore

Seeing that we are on the JTI Bus Tour Across Europe,I was wondering to what places that we are going to. I've always wanted to go England and Ireland to see the rolling green hills,the castles,and learn more about the medieval culture. Always been interested in the swords,the dragons,and the magic within. Movies and books like The Lord of the Rings and Braveheart have captured my imagination. I often find myself daydreaming about a swordfight with an orc.

This song has been in my head for the last couple of days. Led Zeppelin's The Battle of Evermore.This song can be found on their classic untitled 4th album. Note the Lord of the Ring references.Enjoy!

GO FILL UP!!

I just got a phone call from a friend in Iowa,
he just heard on the radio that gas in
either North or South Dakota jumped from
$1.98 a gallon to just over $3.
(I can never keep my Dakota's straight..)
He called to warn me it would probably happen here
in the near future, I said I would pass it on,
for whatever it's worth.
I'm filling up just to be safe!

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my friends! Good to be communing with you again. May the gods of providence trickle down their golden shower of opportunities upon us all.

The elections are over and the results are exactly as I predicted. Now is a good time for all Americans to set aside their differences and do what we do best: make money. Let’s get over this financial mountain (or tunnel through it) and back on the path to prosperity.

We were short on submissions this week. I assume that everyone was out campaigning. There was only one email, from Mr. AvengingAngel, who wrote:

Can Ben Dover really see Uranus?

Dear Mr. AA, considering that his head spends most of it’s time where the sun doesn’t shine, I’m not surprised by anything that he sees.

In lieu of more correspondence from the masses, I give you the following videos. The first one is "Make Me Psychic:"



If you like that, dearies, you can check out more Sally Cruikshank Films on the laughingsal page.

And here’s a video about one of my dear old friends. She was a mentor to me, and a trusted adviser to thousands. May I present, Miss Cleo:



While Miss Cleo may have faded, Madame Zoltar is in the ascendency. Be sure to send your questions and comments to me at madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com for an incisive look beyond the veil of everyday reality.

Toodle loo, my friends.

Thoughts on the Election...

Well, I am going to step into it and post a few thoughts for discussion.

First, I am kind of surprised...I mean, don't Democrats find a way to screw things like this up?

Now to the serious part. McCain's concession speech was one of the best I have seen him give. If he campaigned like that, he might have had a different outcome (and if he hadn't pandered to the far right with his VP pick). After a campaign that got nasty at times, it was good to see the decent man I saw running in 2000 (and still think we would have been a lot better off if he won the Republican nomination then...he probably would have won by a much wider margin over Gore IMHO). Although I like that Obama won, I do have empathy for McCain. He worked hard for a long time for this and it has to be tough to come so close.

So Obama won and boy is there a lot of work to do. Yeah, I voted for him in the end (after seriously considering third party candidates to show that I really wasn't totally enthralled with either of them). Here are a few things I hope he does...

First, he says he wants to work across party lines and one of the best first steps is to make sure there is a Republican or two in his Cabinet. Probably a moderate Republican (although I am sure some conservatives would complain that he just appointed a RINO). A Colin Powell could be a good choice for a couple of posts. Lincolen Chaffee is another possibility. I am sure there are other good choices as well and hopefully he can find one or two he can work with.

Second, he need to get control of Pelosi! She has some good qualities but seems to have spent most of the last two years more intent on punishing Repulbicans for what they did when they were in charge than in running a productive Congress. Under a Repubican administration, she seemed to see herself as the big dog of the Democratic party. Obama needs to get her in line (Harry Reid is guilty as well, although to a lesser extent).

Thrid, he needs to run a more open administration. The Clinton health care initiative and the famous Bush Energy task force were both hindered rather than helped by the secrecy that surrounded them. It's the people's business and we should be in on it. I know the argument is that people won't give candid advice if it's public, but unless its a true national security issue, they should have the cojones to go on the record if their advice is so hot.

The last one I am going to state (for now...believe me I could go on, but it's getting late) is don't let the majority go to their heads. Take a little time to be sure the bills really are well written and in the best interest of the country. That might even include an occasional Republican idea in there. Try it...they might not filabuster everything in the Senate (assuming the Democrats do not reach 60...some races are still to be decided as I write this).

So those are just my first thougths. There are a lot of important issues to be dealt with both at home and abroad. The celebration can't last too long. I look forward to his first appointments to see which direction he is going.

Voting machine problems reported on East Coast, in Midwest

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-votingproblems5-2008nov05,0,2933241.story

They predicted this, too.

How is it that we put a rover on Mars that takes commands from 120,000,000 miles away, but we cannot invent a machine that reliably and effectively counts votes?

I might have a pocket calculator that I can lend to election officials.

Vote Obama? No Candy For You!

I think all but the most insane McCain supporters would distance themselves from this woman...denying Halloween candy to children of people who were voting for Obama! Hopefully, only one person has gone this insane! I almost thought this was a joke until the Detroit Free Press carried the story.

Pre-Election Night Lost Video

"Lost" because I just discovered it today. The Coral doing "Dreaming of You."

Their website is http://thecoral.co.uk/.

My Mr. Bond...What a Large...Telescope You Have!

That globe trotting spy, James Bond, is back in a new movie called Quantum of Solace. One of the locations he visits in this movie is the Very Large Telescope (VLT) located in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

The VLT consists of four 8.2 meter telescopes. The telescopes can operate independently or they can combine the light from them to get the light gathering power of a single 16 meter telescope. Several smaller telescopes can be added to the mix to give the resolution of a single telescope 200 meters across!

This is not the first time as observatory has been used in a Bond film. Arecibo Observatory, a large radio telescope, was seen in the movie Goldeneye.

I have never been to the VLT and am looking forward to seeing it on the big screen.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Weird Finger Game

"Tuttuki Bako is a new video game where a player interacts with the device by sticking their finger in a hole. Your finger then appears on the LCD screen, and you can make contact with the characters in the game."

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/283718.html

Silly song, no video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt5LPFKLqgE

The Sky Tonight: The Moon and Venus

Tonight I managed to get out and snap a couple of pics.
Venus is to the right of the Moon. You can even see a little Earthshine on the Moon if you look closely. Earthshine illuminates the dark part of the Moon. It is light that is reflected from the Earth and then bounces off the Moon.

I took a wide shot as well.

Look to the upper left of the Moon and you see Jupiter. Jupiter and Venus are converging for a very close encounter coming up in a few weeks. On the evening of December 1st, Venus, the Moon and Jupiter will all be very close together. Be sure to mark you calendar for that!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.