Goodbye 2009, Welcome 2010

With the passing of 2009, we say goodbye to the International Year of Astronomy (although the closing ceremony is in Italy in a couple of weeks) and the Year of Science. Hope you observed the Year of the Gorilla and the International Year of Natural Fibers.

With 2010, we welcome the International Year of Biodiversity, the International Year of the Nurse, the International Year for the Reapproachment of Cultures, and the International Year of Communication (which, ironically, I have been unable to find a website for it but there are many references to it if you google it).

Sounds like a party year to me!

Irregular Christmas Party!!

It is officially on the calendar below.

Saturday, January 30th,
4:30 pm

Same location as last year.

POTLUCK style.
Soup will literally be served,
build from there.

Questions/RSVP/Etc.
send email to me at

lizardmom@wi.rr.com

Hope you can make it!!!

PS: details will be emailed to those that RSVP

... and the award goes to......

In an impressive show-down between
the guys and the gals,

THE BOYS take the trophy this month.

The girls did an amazing job of giving
them a good run for their money,

with a tally of 62 to 68,
it was a great month!!!

Back to an individual challenge for most posts,
get your typing fingers ready -

POST!!!

Unfriending 2010's Banished Words

Lake Superior State University has been publishing a list of words that should be banished for "Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness" every New Year's since 1975. As you can imagine, lots of these words are political, but many cover social and tech trends as well.

This years list includes the aforementioned unfriend (and friend...basically any use of friend as a verb), Czar, Tweet, Teachable Moment (I wanted that one gone a long time ago!), and any use of Obama as a prefix of root.

If there is a word you think that should be banished, don't go ballistic (1993), there is a definite possibility (1993) they may have beat you to the punch so don't feel disenfranchised (2002). Bipartisanship had a bit of a comeback early in the year when Obama wanted to work across the aisle, but that word was already banished in 2002. i-Anything made the list in 2007. The complete list is full of interesting factoids (2001).

For sure (1981) check out the list...for the children (2000). It's a great source of infotainment (1986, 1989). After all, it's that time of year again (2009).

Check out my calendar!!

DogAddicts Calendar

Hewlett Packard HP Lap Top Computer Digital Camera WebCam . . . is Racist Against Black People?

Oh my. I wonder if it recognizes Gypsies?

More Mail

Sorry, I'm a bit late on this one. We received the following email on December 21 from the people who gave the JTI (or, as they seem to prefer, a person named JT who calls his blogs Irregulars) a free case of iChill three months ago: http://www.jtirregulars.com/2009/09/interesting-email-that-we-received.html

Hey JT,

Happy Holidays from the folks over at bigMETHOD and iChill! We would love to send you some iChill to help you guys escape from those holiday stresses. Be sure to let me know if you are interested!

iChill is also going to be featured on Good Morning America in a trends of ’09 -’10 segment airing on New Year’s Day! Be sure to check it out and have a fabulous holiday!

Cheers,

Jena

--
Jena Brown

bigMETHOD
5519 S. Centinela Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90066
www.bigMETHOD.com

Both Lizardmom and kkdither tried the iChill and posted their reviews:

http://www.jtirregulars.com/2009/10/ichill-in-house.html
http://www.jtirregulars.com/2009/10/ichill-trial.html

We still have nine bottles of the beverage to give out at the next gathering, and no one at JTI Central is particularily interested in more. So we thought we'd ask if anyone else had ideas. Should we just accept another twelve and pass out twice as much at the next get-together? Is anyone out there interested in the entire case? Any thoughts? Advice?

Happy New Year!

Movin' On Up

The JTI has been recognized as a "local blogger" and included with the "media" invited to meet with a candidate for governor:

Hello,

Next week, Mark Neumann will be visiting areas in Racine, Kenosha and Walworth counties to kick off his “Mark on Main Street” events.

As a local blogger, you are personally invited and encouraged to meet with and interview Mark. We reserved a block of time, from 12:30 -1:00 on both days, for Mark to meet with members of the local media. If you would like to reserve a part of this time to personally interview Mark, please contact Vince Trovato at vince@markforgov.com

You are also invited to talk with Mark during other times of the day as he meets with local residents, small business owners and local government officials in your area. Mark wants to hear your concerns and listen to your ideas for making a strong Wisconsin.

Here is Mark's schedule for your area. Click on the date for a detailed itinerary with the locations where Mark will be stopping and at what time.

• Monday, Jan. 4 – Racine, Union Grove and East Troy
• Tuesday, Jan. 5 – Kenosha and Waterford

I hope to see you there!

JP Mason
Online Communications Specialist
Mark Neumann for Governor

By the way, this blog is not meant as an endorsement of anyone for anything.

Also, in regard to this month's challenge, I'm blogging this evening in feminine mode.

Oron and Rahab=Uranus and Neptune

Language can be a funny thing. In English, we make up new words willy nilly whenver something new comes along. Other languages change more slowly.

The names of the five other planets visible to the naked eye are named after Roman gods. When we discovered Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, they kept the whole mythology thing going. All of these names translated nicely to English so we kept them.

Hebrew on the other hand, is a different matter. The five bright planets have Hebrew names :Hama (Mercury), Noga (Venus), Maadim (Mars), Tsedek (Jupiter) and Shabtai (Saturn). But all the planets discovered telescopically are missing from the list.

I just heard a story on The World today about Uranus and Neptune finally getting Hebrew names. People made nominations for the names of the planets and the finalists were voted on by the public (I wish I knew about it...I might have put in my two cents). They did this as part of the International Year of Astronomy.

Oron won for Uranus and means "little light". It's dim so I guess that works.

Rahab, according to Haaretz, is a sea monster in the Bible (the Bible isn't my strong point...anyone who knows more of the story, feel free to post it). Since Neptune is named for the Roman god of the sea, this is a nice tip of the hat to the traditional name.

So welcome to the club, Oron and Rahab.

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

So whatcha doing for New Years Eve??

I have heard people ask...
What are you doing New Years Eve?

Well, I personally will be opening at work,
and going to bed early,
Boy, do I know how to celebrate or what??

What are you guys doing?

Going out?
Having a party?
Staying home and hibernating?

[This blog has been bumped up by request -- The Sheriff.]

Battery Chargers.....(Important!!!)

Attached are pictures of what remains of a 2007 Suburban.

This fire resulted from leaving an Iphone charger/docking station plugged into the car outlet. It overheated and started a fire, while parked in our garage. PLEASE unplug anything you have in your car outlets once you turn off your car!

Happy Blue Moon New Year

Yep, just a quick post (which I have been negligent in doing recently) wishing everyone a great New Year and reminding you that there is a Blue Moon tonight. The first full Moon in December was on December 2nd so this is the second full Moon, commonly referred to as a blue Moon (even though the Moon will not appear any more blue than normal).

So what's special about the New Year astronomically? Pretty much nothing. It does not coincide with any special point in space, it is not a solstice or equinox, it does not mark Earth's closest or farthest from the Sun (although the closest approach does occur in early Janaury) and there is not big sign in space saying "GO" that we all collect $200 when we pass (although that would be nice).

In fact, there is not a single point in Earth's obrit that marks a New Year. Remember, it takes us about 365.25 days to go around the Sun, so each year we end up making it not quite all the way around. Every four years we add an extra day to get us back on track. But its not exactly 365.25 days either, so if you look at longer time scales, there are other rules..for example, if the year is evenly divisible by 100 there is NOT a leap day added unless it is also divisible by 400. We had a leap day in 2000, but did not in 1900 and will not in 2100.

So have fun tonight as Earth passes through no particularly significant point in space!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Countdown With The Stooges

Starting at 6 AM today, AMC TV is counting down New Year's Eve with the Threee Stooges: http://www.amctv.com/movienights/countdown-with-the-stooges/

I know that my Irregular Stooge fans won't want to miss one minute of this.

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve at D.A.

This is what happens at DA's house during the holidays...it just plain goes to the dogs....

OLD FART PRIDE

Actually, it's not a bad thing to be called, as you will see. Old Farts are easy to spot at sporting events; during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner, Old Farts remove their caps and stand at attention and sing without embarrassment. They know the words and believe in them.

Old Farts remember World War II, Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Normandy and Hitler. They remember the Atomic Age, the Korean War, The Cold War, the Jet Age and the Moon Landing. They remember the 50 plus Peacekeeping Missions from 1945 to 2005, not to mention Vietnam.

If you bump into an Old Fart on the sidewalk he will apologize. If you pass an Old Fart on the street, he will nod or tip his cap to a lady. Old Farts trust strangers and are courtly to women.

Old Farts hold the door for the next person and always, when walking, make certain the lady is on the inside for protection.

Old Farts get embarrassed if someone curses in front of women and children and they don't like any filth or dirty language on TV or in movies.

Old Farts have moral courage and personal integrity. They seldom brag unless it's about their children or grandchildren.

It's the Old Farts who know our great country is protected, not by politician's, but by the young men and women in the military serving their country.

This country needs Old Farts with their work ethic, sense of responsibility, pride in their country and decent values.

We need them now more than ever.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my farm fresh frijoles! How are you? How was your Christmas? I had an absolute ball at the home of my cousin, Drina. Most of the family gathered there to eat and drink and sing and dance. We know how to party. In fact, we celebrate the old-fashioned twelve days of Christmas and keep going until January 6. Party on, my Irregulars, party on! Do you have any special plans for New Year’s Eve? I hope that each and every one of you is in the arms of your special someone at midnight for the holiday.

What did I tell you about our spectacular and heuristic Packers? Did I not advise you last week that some improvement would become apparent? Now that was a game! But what about the upcoming Cardinals? Should we hold back our best to give them a rest before putting them to the playoffs test? Madame Zoltar, the rapper! Oh my! I don’t think I’ll help the Packers this week so much as work against the Cardinals. That should make it interesting.

There were no messages or summons received this week. The holidays must be happy.

I’m going to get back to celebrating the holidays myself. Here are a few festive videos I found for your enjoyment. First is “Happy New Year! (2009) in HD:”



Next is the curious “HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010 with 24 candles,” complete with kitty in the background:



Finally, here is the simple and beautiful “Happy New Year 2010:”



Bundle up for the weather ahead, my friends. If you are going out on New Year’s Eve and plan on drinking, please make sure that you have a designated driver, or sleep it off wherever you’re going. Friends let friends sleep it off.

Please send your winning thoughts and losing lottery tickets to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Thank you for reading my blog this week. I love all of my readers and my Irregulars. I wish you the Happiest of New Years! Be careful out there. Auspicious!

Happy New Year!

Wishing all the JTIers a very happy 2010!

"After 152 years, Porters of Racine to close"

From the Journal Times:

"RACINE - A store with 152 years of history in Racine will soon be just that - a part of the city's history.

"Porters of Racine, the city's high-end furniture store at 301 Sixth St., will be closing.

"'The decision has been made,' Micah Waters, the vice president of Porters, said Tuesday.

"'Under this economy the high-end luxury market has been hit like we have never seen before.'"

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/article_095f2a90-f4e9-11de-9ef9-001cc4c002e0.html


I gasped, literally. I don't know why. Given the economy . . . , but still it surprised me. Reminds me of when Zahn's shut down. It's not good, not good for downtown, and not good for Racine.

I was sitting at the stoplight on 6th and Wisconsin the other evening when I noticed that the O and R in their sign are burnt out. Neon. Expensive to replace, I thought, especially trying to match the color of the others. Now they'll be dark permanently.

My condolences to the employees and the owners.

I need help (duh, like that's a surprise!)

Tell me a joke...oh boy, here come SER and LizardMom....tell me a really good, CLEAN joke...

kk, how much pie is left now??? And can I have the recipe??? I love amaretto!

Holiday Movie Time

So what have people seen lately? I have seen two over the long weekend.

First up was Avatar. We saw the standard version as one of my friends has an eye condition which makes the 3D version a confusing experience. The effects were spectacular and the world was visually extremely rich (although, in one of those things that annoys only me, I could not envision any geometry of stars, planets and moons that would create the variety of things you saw in the night sky). The political allegories could get a little tiring and should have been more subtle...don't need to be beat over the head with them quite so much. Still, I probably will go back and see the 3D version.

The other was Up in the Air. I saw this on Christmas Day and was surprised the theater wasn't totally packed. Excellent movie with compelling characters, well written and fine performances all around. It's really a movie for our times as the lead character is a hired gun who goes around the country firing people.

I travel quite a bit for my job (not as much as Ryan Bingham, George Clooney's character) and was amused at how similar some of our travel routines are and how many of the airports I recognized. It inspired me to look at my frequent flyer accounts. Now Southwest doens't do miles and I had to think about past travel before I flew enough to get accounts and, to the best I can estimate, my lifetime miles are...well, as Ryan says, that is a personal question!

So what other movies should I see? Other potential movies on my list are Nine, Sherlock Holmes, and the Princess and the Frog. Am I missing any good ones?

2010 here we come!!

Okay, in an attempt to try and get our numbers up, girls....what are your plans for 2010?? I plan to just plain enjoy life and you?

Will we still be dragging behind that darn SER??? Will he keep posting and posting and posting????

Will Mdme Zoltar fall off her astral plane?

Will kk not eat that pie????

Will Fungi show up again?? Where is he by the way???

Will Logjam become unjammed? (Hope I am nowhere in the vicinity if that happens!)

And what about Orbs??? Will I find him hanging from a spider web around here somewhere??

And Drew...will his music take off??? Or will he take it off for his music...I get so confused by it all!

Happy New Year, guys!

2009 in Review

From the Folks at Jib Jab. Something to offend everybody of all political stripes.

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Its not over til its over!

This has been a great month in our
guys verses the gals challenge for blogging

Here is where we are at...

(of course, the girls ARE outnumbered)

GUYS - 64 blogs
GALS - 50 blogs

Not bad at all. Girls, we can still catch up,
somebody distract SER for a little while ok??
(hehehehe!)
I think we still have a chance. We've done quite well
especially seeing as its one of the busiest months of the year.

Keep it up!!

What should January's challenge be??

ALUMINUM CAN MODEL CARS