Man Crashes SUV into Gas Station

http://www2.nbc13.com/vtm/news/local/article/man_crashes_suv_through_pinson_bp_gas_station/128126/

Oh yeah, it's getting weirder and weirder out there.

Informercials Have you ever been suck in by them?

Informercials
	Yes
	No
	Almost
pollcode.com free polls

It's an Illusion!

Okay, see if you can figure out the levitating guy.

I will tell you it is NOT a Photoshop job. I figured it out almost instantly...probably from too many years of looking at pictures that allegedly show UFOs or that we didn't land on the Moon and getting to know optical illusions fairly well in the process.

iChill Testing Results by SER

I took the iChill challenge last night and these are my findings:

Container – I had to put my glasses on to find the spot where to “tear” it open. They should make that area ‘white’ verses the same as the rest of the package.

Aroma – Smelled like cough syrup, definitely a smell of its own.

Taste – Like an unsweetened cough syrup. Reminded of sugar free soda which leaves an after taste in your mouth

Consistency – it is like a soda, not thick like cough syrup.

When I took it, I just shot it right down, no sipping or nursing it, hammered like a shot of tequila!

Now I do have to stop here and let you know I do take several prescription meds, for high blood pressure and cholesterol, oh and rat poison (Warfarin).

About 15 minutes after shoot’in iChill down, I could feel pressure in my chest. I did not like the feeling.

iChill does have a warning on their label to “seek advise from your healthcare professional before taking this product”. Well he was not available at 11pm when I took it!

Final Results – I did stay up for approximately one and half hours after I drank the product. I could not feel any additional relaxation overtaking my body. The added pressure in my chest started to rescind and I went to bed.

In Conclusion – this product is not for me. I do have one more bottle, which I will pass along to one of my kids and see what they feel about.

Tiger Woods Home

I recently posted pictures of some celebritie's homes. I did post a picture of Tiger’s house...a dog house.

In all fairness to him, I am now posting pictures of his home...nice crib!

Four for Fridays

Hello everybody! This weeks topic is on sports

1) Do you participate in any sport?

2) Did you participate in any when you were younger?

3) What is your favorite sport?

4) Who is your favorite sports team?

A reminder-Super Bowl is this weekend-the Colts or the Saints? Have a good weekend!

Neptune is a Girl's Best Friend

This was announced a few weeks ago but I missed it and it is pretty cool. An article appeared in the January issue of Nature Physics talking about the possibility of diamonds inside Uranus and Neptune. J.H. Eggert and his team at Lawrence Livermore Labs used a laser to melt a diamond at a pressure of 40 million atmospheres (1 atmosphere is the air pressure at sea level on Earth). They slowly decreased the pressure and temperature. At about 11,000 atmospheres and 50,000 degrees, they found solid diamonds form!

Now here's my favorite part...the solid diamond floated! Usually, solids are more dense the the liquid form of a substance. Water is a notable exception (ice floats because it is less dense). Turns out diamonds have the same property. It makes sense when I thought about it...the crystal structure of diamond holds the carbon atoms fairly far apart, so the density is lower. The trick is it is hard to liquify carbon and measure its properties which they finally did.

This experiment simulated the conditions deep under the cloud tops of Uranus and Neptune. The idea put forth in this paper is that there is a possibility that there is liquid carbon which diamond "icebergs" floating in it. Now that is hard to imagine...I am still trying to wrap my head around that one!

This is all very preliminary and a lot more work needs to be done. This work is a nice example of how we can study distant planets by combining computer simulations and laboratory experiments here on Earth...and I so going to use diamond as another example of a substance that has a lower density in its solid state.

Aren't you glad I didn't use the name of the "other" planet in this blog title?

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

I Got the H1N1 Vaccination Yesterday

I took mom to the doctor for a scheduled appointment and got it while I was there. No side effects yet, except for this nagging notion that whatever the government says is the truth. The idea seems to get stronger and stronger.

For That Someone Special...

We have probably all gagged on those little conversation hearts that turn up everywhere around Valentine's Day. Well, finally we have a cure for the terminally single and hostile amongst us...Bittersweets. These little hearts carry a somewhat different message than the traditional ones such as "She cooks", "Kiss a Frog", "Prenup, okay?" and "Booty 2 Big". They come in three collections: Dejected, Dysfunctional, and Dumped depending on your situation...or get the three pack for only $19.95!

Brought to you by the good folks at Despair.com, one of my favorite cures for the office blues.

stuck in my head

Mr. Racine Already Generating Publicity

"Mayor and Alderman exchange words"

"Alderman Mike Shields and Mayor John Dickert had a word battle over the process used to hire Mark Eickhorst, a radio host and former Racine alderman, who became the city's new public information officer.

"Eickhorst will work for the city through a $25,000 contract with Racine Area Manufacturers and Commerce. The contract would run from Feb. 1 to Dec. 31.

"As PIO for the city, Eickhorst will write press releases and market Racine to media within 100 miles of the city.

"During a verbal exchange with Mayor John Dickert, Shields said he wanted to make sure the entire hiring process was open to the public.

"Bloggers have suggested that the Eickhorst appointment was a political favor by Dickert for Eickorst's radio support during the mayoral race."

http://racineinsider.blogspot.com/2010/02/mayor-and-alderman-exchange-words.html


The Insider News site has a video clip of the Mayor gaveling down Alderman Shields' questions, and some interesting comments to read.

Celebrity Homes!!!

Billy Joel



EDDIE MURPHY



Halle Berry



Hugh Hefner



J-Lo and Mark Anthony



John Travolta



OPRAH



Sylvester Stallone



Tiger Woods

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my hothouse honey bells! How are you? I don’t care whether Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow or not. After four weeks of February, I go into spring mode. It doesn’t matter if there’s snow or if there’s cold in March, because it is spring. You will see green begin to poke up its little head here and there in March in Racine. Sometimes it snows on the green, but the green is used to that… I get so excited, dearies, about spring. I can hardly wait.

I had a great time at the JT Irregulars Christmas Party. It was wonderful to meet each and every one of you. The cream of mushroom soup was delicious. And I never would have expected such a hilarious rendition of "We Are The Champions" from Mr. SER and his ukulele. Oh my! I laughed until my sides ached. It was such a good time. And a special thank you to Ms. Beejay for those “Sugar balls” she had shipped in. Who would have thought that a cross of plums and grapes would be so delicious?

There were no messages scrawled in the pixie dust this week, my friends, no tapping from the hulls of sunken dreams.

What I want to blog about this week is alternatives to cable TV. My cable TV/internet bill keeps creeping up and up. My income, meanwhile, continues to go down and down. If stocks in Zoltar® start trading any lower, they’ll be paying people to take them. So I’m faced with a squeeze and something has to give. It would be nice if the local cable provider would reward people who have been loyal customers for decades rather than give special deals to only new subscribers. Yes, it would be nice, but it certainly wouldn’t be Time-Warner-y.

I’m thinking of retaining my internet connection but disconnecting from TV entirely. Although more and more “content” is available on TV, I find myself with less and less time (and disposition) to digest it. Rather than going to dish TV or even putting up an antenna, I think that maybe I can cut the cord completely. Besides, my television set is an old one and would need one of those converter boxes for an antenna. I didn’t get a free coupon when they were available (because I have cable).

I know that we touched on this briefly at the Christmas party, with Ms. kk mentioning a site called “Zulu” that has free TV online. It has also been discussed on various other blogs at various other times, but I would appreciate it if everyone would speak up again on their experiences and/or advice about online television and other entertainment alternatives to the conventional boob tube. I want to hear what irregular minds have to say on the subject.

I would love it if some of the old time television was broadcast these days, but the best place to find that is online. YouTube has a glut of old shows. Here’s one of my favorites, Groucho Marx in “You Bet Your Life:”



And here’s that sexy Jack Webb portraying Sgt. Joe Friday in a classic “Dragnet” (with special guest Lee Marvin):



They don’t make them like that anymore, my dear friends. In fact, I don’t know if they make them like us anymore, either. Oh my. Thank you for reading my blog this week, dears. I love you all.

Send your bipartisan and/or nonpartisan screeds to: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Be careful out there, my irregulars and regulars, and have a good week. Gobbler’s Knob, indeed!

Finally, An Honest Campaign Ad...

All thanks to the Supreme Court.

What Most People Miss at Sunset...

Everyone loves a good sunset. Go to a west facing beach and you will see lots of people out there watching sunset (or better yet, try Duval Street on Key West!) Most people watch sunset (sometimes seeing green flash) and then go to dinner or something.

Next time you watch a sunset, turn around after the sunsets and look east. You can sometimes see another interesting phenomena: the Earth's shadow rising! I was doing a star party a couple of weeks ago and go this picture looking east towards Tucson.

This was taken with my cell phone camera (I left my good DLSR at home that night) so the picture isn't quite the quality I would like. Even with this picture, note the dividing line between the pinks and the nice deep blue. That is Earth's shadow! You can watch this line slowly rise in the sky as the Sun sinks lower below the horizon.

Another interesting thing to note is that I am actually not facing directly east, but somewhat north of east to get this picture. Since it is winter, the Sun is setting in the southwest, so I have to face somewhat northeast to get the best view of the rising shadow.

So next time you are out watching a sunset, turn around when the Sun is gone and watch the shadow rise!

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

Another Politician Sells Us Out

"Madison — Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan (D-Janesville) - who this fall softened his stance on capping interest rates on payday lenders - disclosed Monday he has recently dated a lobbyist for the industry.

"Rumors swirled Thursday that Sheridan was in danger of losing his speakership because of a relationship with Shanna Wycoff, a lobbyist for Cincinnati-based Axcess Financial, which operates Check 'n Go payday loan shops. But Assembly Democrats insisted Monday they were standing by him."

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/83263332.html


It never ends. Pigs gouging the people they are sworn to serve. Perhaps something drastic needs to happen to some of these swine before they will get the message: STOP SCREWING US OVER!!!

Past Memories

Some kids do you proud.

http://journaltimes.com/news/local/education/article_72aa5426-0f6e-11df-bfc2-001cc4c03286.html

Congratulations to Mitchell School and in particular, congratulations to my almost nephew, Jason! Job well done!

The results are in!!!

Well, continuing with my hearing loss...I did see an ENT (ear, nose, throat) last week...he immediately ordered an MRI...and just to make you smile, gals, remember to take your cellphone out of your bra...mine came flying out, banged on all sides of the tube and flew at the tech...oh dear...new phone will arrive this week.

The doctor called twice on Friday; I was out....unfortunately, my brain is 'perfectly normal.' No signs of any tumors, growths, blood vessel problems, etc...nerves looks normal....

Now we all know my brain cannot possibly be normal, but let's just take his word for it.

Bottomline, 'get used to it.' Wouldn't I have loved to have punched him!

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Groundhog Day is a holiday celebrated on February 2. It is held in the United States and Canada. According to folklore, if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on this day fails to see its shadow, it will leave the burrow, signifying that winter will soon end. If on the other hand, the groundhog sees its shadow, the groundhog will supposedly retreat into its burrow, and winter will continue for six more weeks.[1] The holiday, which began as a Pennsylvania German custom in southeastern and central Pennsylvania in the 18th and 19th centuries, has its origins in ancient European weather lore, wherein a badger or sacred bear is the prognosticator as opposed to a groundhog.[2] The holiday also bears some similarities to the medieval Catholic holiday of Candlemas.[3] It also bears similarities to the Pagan festival of Imbolc, the seasonal turning point of the Celtic calendar, which is celebrated on February 2 and also involves weather prognostication.[4]

Crazy Orange County Police Pursuit

Here's the same pursuit, as it happened, without the music or speeding up. Not so funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoKZbOSvVa0&NR.

Sell The Vatican, Feed The World

Caution: Adult Language, Inappropriate Images, and Politically Incorrect Humor



I have a major crush on Sarah Silverman. If I was 20 years younger and rich and Jewish, I'd make a play for her.

Where do you / would you send your kids?

If you found out the school you are sending your kids to was no longer going to be available, where would you send your kids to school? ~ The kids are young, there are going to be in third grade and first graqde next year. I could really use some advise. Thanks, guys!

Parental Pron Blocker

This is NOT one of Becker's favorite tools

and January's winner is...

and the winner is...
SER!!
Congrats again to our blogging spuddy buddy!

Here are the stats -
SER - 31 blogs
KK - 24
Halebopp - 20
Orbs - 13
RW - 7
Drew - 6
Huck - 5
Beejay - 5
Mme. Z - 4
Dogaddicts - 1

LOGJAM, where are you and our strange news?
Come back, we miss you!!
February will be another individual challenge.

Let's give SER a good run for the title :)

Look forward to March,
it will be another guys VS gals !!

Ready, Set, BLOG!!!

iChill Redux, Redux

The iChill was handed out at the JT Irregulars Christmas Party last night and I snagged two bottles. They're tiny: 2 oz. each. "Blissful berry" is the flavor. After I got home from the get-together, I opened one up and sniffed it. It smelled like candy. I drank half of it and then paused to taste it. It tasted vaguely familiar, again, like some sort of candy, but not any particular fruit or berry. I didn't find it unpleasant, but I wouldn't buy a bottle of something just for that flavor. I finished it off.

I have to concur with the previous irregular reviewers that the iChill "relaxation shot" did nothing noticeable for me. After an hour, I forgot about it, and I stayed up as late as usual last night. However, I would like to point out to http://www.bigmethod.com/, and all other potential advertising agencies, that I would be much more likely to skew my review towards the favorable if I were given, say, a new vehicle or computer to review. Just saying . . .

I had a great time last night and want to thank Beejay for the delicious Honey Dews (is that what they're called? - my brain is shot), a cross of tangerine and grapefruit. I had one last night and it was yummy. Also, very juicy, so be forewarned, fellow irregulars.