Halloween Sunset

I haven't posted in a while and am going to try and get back into it. I have been posting lots of pics on my twitter feed and google+ account, both of which are good places to keep track of my latest. 

However, tonight's Halloween sunset was particularly good. I wasn't even sure I would get anything since there were lots of clouds. However, the Sun is setting just north of Kitt Peak and I wanted to get that shot (I really hope to get it RIGHT behind Kitt Peak in a few days!) I was fortunate tonight and the sky was clear in the direction of Kitt Peak...at least clear near the horizon. Enjoy these shots...click to enlarge them. 

Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog.

"Did You Know - 10 Halloween Facts"

Darn, I always dress up like a priest on Halloween in Alabama.

Someone Pooped in my Wheaties this Morning.

We get to turn off street lights, close fire stations, build a round-a-bout in front of City Hall where people from far and wide will come and see and spend their money Fair’s bar and what do I see today; one of the clowns running for President coming into Racine being escorted by at least 6 or more Wisconsin State Patrol Officers, not sure how many Racine Police Officers blocking traffic and several Racine County Sheriffs.

Oh…and don’t forget we get to add MORE money to “Jabber’in Johns” defense fund because he is such a…well everyone knows.

These people running for office brag about the millions of dollars they raised for their campaign let them pay the bill 100% for the additional security our state and local police departments furnish.

Halloween Laughs

A tip of the hat to legal stranger for these.

Committee of the Whole Meeting Tonight

From RacineUncovered.org:

"UPDATED–WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 31,2012. STAFF IS GOING TO BE PRESENTING TONIGHT AT THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE INCLUDING THE RACINE FIRE DEPARTMENT. I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO ATTEND, IF YOU CARE ABOUT THE SAFETY OF THE CITY AND IT’S RESIDENTS. CITY HALL 7 P.M."

Read more: http://racineuncovered.org/2012/10/city-hall-to-close-a-fire-station-and-eliminate-3-positions-from-rfd/   


ggodmuls reveals that the vacant lots and buildings that lying John just bought for us will take $186,000 off of our tax rolls.  That's money that the taxpayers must make up.  Also, the old Belle City Foundry will need massive soil remediation.  That's more money the taxpayers have to cough up for an empty field.  Lying John, with the Journal Times' backing, inflicts these costs upon as as he attempts to close a fire station,  take down more streetlights, and cut deeper into city services provided to the people who are paying the bills.

The mayor has never addressed the legal costs that he has also inflicted upon us.  Not a word.  What a coward.  I think that yellow tie also runs down his back. 

Party on, lying John! 

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my ghouls and goblins!  How are you?  Trick or treat! Today is the day and tonight is the night for strange occurrences and spooky apparitions.  Beware. The undead will walk amongst us - even more so than usual.  Ha-ha!  Halloween humor. Today is a day when you can dress up really, really weird and no one will care.  In fact, you’ll probably be complimented.  Whatever your fantasy, you can live it today.  As long as it’s legal, that is.  I’m thinking of dressing up in a generic gypsy costume with a turban.  I’ll carry a crystal ball and call myself a psychic.  Ha-ha, again. Happy Halloween!

Our magnificent, marvelous, masterly Green Bay Packers tamed the Jaguars last week.  Another win for the Pack.  The beat goes on.  This Sunday, November 4, the Arizona Cardinals get their wings clipped by the Packers at Lambeau Field, noon. O mighty Pack, drop those Cardinals like a bad habit.  Get in their faces mercilessly.  Cripple them permanently.  Go Pack!

Well, my dear Irregulars, I’m testing the waters of the internet.  Nothing too fancy: Ask YourFree Fortune Teller!   Tell me what you think.  Today I may be a “free fortune teller,” but if things go well, I will make some moola off of this.

We had all sorts of trick-or-treaters visit our home on Sunday evening.   Señor Zanza and I put on quite a show for Halloween. Some of those kids will probably be psychologically scarred for life.  All the candy and other treats were gone by evening’s end.  Junior made sure of that. 

I feel so bad for all of the people affected by Hurricane Sandy.  I’m sending them good vibes day and night, as well as praying for them.  Our weather sure has been screwed up.  Mother Nature is acting nuts.  I wonder if she’s off her meds again?  Oh dear. 

By this time next week, the presidential election will be over.  We may not have a winner, but the election will be done.  The Electoral College is a strange place and it’s difficult to predict what they will do.  In any case, I’ll be happy just to be rid of the robocalls and mass mailings, though I know the arguments will continue to take place.  We may become a nation at war with itself.  Remember: "A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

Thank you for reading my blog today.  I enjoy writing it and I hope that you enjoy reading it.  Together, we can do anything.

Why do fools fall in love?  Find out: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Don’t forget to turn your clocks back one hour this Sunday, or you’ll be early for everything.  Daylight Saving Time ends and the long, dark nights of winter begin.  Brr.  Stay warm, my dears.  Sacredotal!  

Open Blog - Halloween

Trick or treat!

Open Blog - Tuesday

Goofy! Zzzzzzzzzzz...

Journal Times Editorial takes City Hall to Task over Bathroom Remodeling Cost

"Journal Times editorial: City flushing dollars down the toilet"

http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/journal-times-editorial-city-flushing-dollars-down-the-toilet/article_526221b6-222c-11e2-bd65-0019bb2963f4.html

Now that hell has frozen over, and the East Coast is underwater or snow, I, too, am beginning to believe that the Mayan calendar might be right. 

Halloween Pictures!

Yes it is that time of the year. The reason I like this time of the year is to see what kind of costumes the little kids are going to wear also to see how crazy people decorate their houses. We just happened to stop and get some pictures this year. We didn't plan on going out and getting Halloween pictures when we seen these houses. The one above was on the north side of Racine.

 This picture is also on the north side of Racine at the same house.

This picture is on Main St in Racine.  I had to stop and take this picture from across the street.

This picture was taken on the north side of Racine across the street from the first picture.

This picture was taken the weekend my grandson was born up in the Menominee Reservation. Yes I stop on the side of the road to get this picture. The next two are going to be from the same house.

I hope everyone enjoys the Halloween pictures that we have taken this year. Please feel free to leave any comments. Happy Halloween to everyone!

What I want for Christmas

I've been a good boy all year.

Open Blog - Monday

Betty Boop is Dutch?

"City Hall to close a fire station-RFD calls are up 4.5% for emergency assistance"

From RacineUncovered.org:

"WAY TO GO CITY HALL! It’s confirmed, the 2013 proposed budget is up on the City of Racine’s website. City of Racine. Budget numbers and documentation show that they want to close a station. The number of calls are up that the Racine Fire Department responds to. Data shows the amount of calls is up 4.5% and that aprox 16% of calls can take over 8 minutes to respond to.
Page 10 reflects that they are planning on closing a fire station and that 3 firefighter positions will be eliminated from city services."

Read more: http://racineuncovered.org/2012/10/city-hall-to-close-a-fire-station-and-eliminate-3-positions-from-rfd/


When they said "belt-tightening," you didn't think they meant at City Hall, did you?

D.I.E.T

Useless Information

Did you know:

The United States consumes 70 million carmel apples a year?

Open Blog - Weekend

Enjoy yourselves.

The official Halloween Trick-or-Treat times

Brought to top as a reminder.

The official Halloween Trick-or-Treat times for Racine and surrounding communities by date are:

 

• Racine, Oct. 28, 4-7 p.m.

• Elmwood Park, Oct. 28, 4-7 p.m.

• Mount Pleasant, Oct. 28, 4-7 p.m.

• Caledonia, Oct. 28, 4-7 p.m.

• Wind Point, Oct. 28, 4-7 p.m.

• North Bay, Oct. 28, 4-7 p.m.

• Village of Rochester, Oct. 28, 3-6 p.m.

• Raymond, Oct. 28, 4-8 p.m.

• Somers, Oct. 28, 3-6 p.m

• Wheatland, Oct. 28, 2-5 p.m.

• Lyons, Oct. 28, 2-4 p.m.

 

 Sturtevant, Oct. 31, 5-7 p.m.

• City and Town of Burlington, Oct. 31, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

• Norway, Oct. 31, 5-7 p.m.

• Wind Lake, Oct. 31, 5-7 p.m.

• Dover, Oct. 31, 6-8 p.m.

• Union Grove, Oct. 31, 5:30-7 p.m.

• Yorkville, Oct. 31, 5:30-7 p.m.

• Town of Waterford, Oct. 31, 5-7:30 p.m.

• Village of Waterford, Oct. 31, 5-7 p.m.

 

Courtesy of Racine Journal Times

The Men Who Built America

The Men Who Built America I have been watching this series on the History Channel. Extremely interesting: I never knew what a bunch of bastards these guys like Scott, Carnegie, Rockefeller and Vanderbilt were.

Yes they did do a lot for America but they also cause great pain for millions of Americans.

Constant competition between themselves and I do truly believe they are the ones who started the Great Depression because of their greed!

men-who-built-America   If you get a chance I would recommend watching it.

……SER

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone! Welcome back to Four for Fridays! It's been a short and pleasant week. Certainly a huge difference in the prior weeks. About time... Anyways, here are some questions...

1)  Have you ever gotten the flu shot?

2) If you could win a 'life-time supply' of anything what would you want it to be?

3) What do you love the smell of?

4)  Would you rather be hungry or thirsty?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Friday

OK. 

:-)

Open Blog - Thursday

"Sorry, Mrs. Thursday, but this card is no good."

I am pure evil. If I have to suffer a loop, the world suffers with me.

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my mixed bag of nuts!  How are you?  Fall continues to fall, but “they” are predicting a relatively warm week.  “They,” of course, are the ones who were convicted in Italy of not predicting an earthquake.  I understand that some Italian officials are now resigning their positions in a show of unity with the convicted scientists.  Oh my.  How crazy can it get?  What if they start prosecuting psychics who make inaccurate predictions?  Oh my, oh my.  Of course, I have nothing to fear.  My customers always end up 100% satisfied, one way or another. 

The Green Bay Packers played a 100% satisfying game last Sunday against the St. Louis Rams, adding another win to their record.  Next up are the Jacksonville Jaguars, this Sunday, October 28, at noon, in Lambeau Field.  I’m sorry, but Jacksonville Jaguars sounds like the name of a car dealership.  In any case, our Packers should make road kill out of them.  Go Pack!  Destroy, destroy, destroy!  Yay team!

I was saddened to hear about the shootings in Brookfield. What a tragedy.  My sympathy and prayers go out to all who were touched by it.

My telephone rings every day with robocalls about the upcoming election.  My mailbox is stuffed with large, glossy campaign literature for one candidate or another.  Almost all news media focus and refocus on the campaign.  I know who I’m going to vote for.  I made up my mind weeks ago.  There should be some way for people like me to avoid all of the marketing that’s going on.  Of course, there isn’t.  The din of the campaigning won’t fade until after November 6.   I can hardly wait.

I don’t even read the campaign literature, but it must cost millions of dollars to put out so many mailings.  Wouldn’t the money be better spent lowering our debt or providing needed services?  Of course it would, but marketing has replaced integrity in our politics, and we are the poorer for it.

I received a call from Junior’s school the other day.  They are concerned because he keeps placing “hexes” on teachers and students he doesn’t like.  Of course, the hexes don’t work, but his behavior creeps out some of the other people.  I had a long talk with him and I think he understands now that should he develop any sort of powers, he must use them for good.  Or I’ll hex him back into last week. 

Señor Zanza has been out of town, attending a family reunion in Indiana.  The Indiana Zanzas are not to be confused with the Montana Zanzzas, who spell their name with an additional z.  There was some bitter dispute centuries ago and the Zanza clan split up because of it.  Today no one remembers why the feud even started, but the participants don’t let that dampen their zeal.  Mr. Zanza can orate for hours on the subject of the Zanzzas and what dastardly dirt bags they are.  Family politics can be very challenging.

Well, that’s my blast for this week, my dears.  Thank you so much for stopping by to read it.  I love visitors and I love love.  Remember, love is the drug. 

In love or in lust?  Find out: madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com.

Have a glorious week, one and all.  Stock up on spooky stuff and Halloween candy.  Boo!  Watch out for ghosts and goblins and black cats.  Meow.  Galeanthropy!

Open Blog - Wednesday

I'm feeling wacky already.

Posting to Toad

I was asked to post this.. It's funny at the same time I just wanted to cry and really hope it wasnt real..

10 good things to know about Sweden

In case there is a stop in Sweden during the next bus trip I thought I would post this little informational video. There is a mix of Swedish and English so I hope you all get the gist of it..

Open Blog - Tuesday

Ferocious, but fun, too.

For Lizardmom (Don't Watch, Froglover)

Sorry for hogging the blogging. I'm on a streak.

"L'Aquila quake: Italy scientists guilty of manslaughter"

"Six Italian scientists and an ex-government official have been sentenced to six years in prison over the 2009 deadly earthquake in L'Aquila.

"A regional court found them guilty of multiple manslaughter.

"Prosecutors said the defendants gave a falsely reassuring statement before the quake, while the defence maintained there was no way to predict major quakes.

"The 6.3 magnitude quake devastated the city and killed 309 people.

"Many smaller tremors had rattled the area in the months before the quake that destroyed much of the historic centre.

"It took Judge Marco Billi slightly more than four hours to reach the verdict in the trial, which had begun in September 2011.

"Lawyers have said that they will appeal against the sentence. As convictions are not definitive until after at least one level of appeal in Italy, it is unlikely any of the defendants will immediately face prison."

Read more:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20025626  


This is great news.  How soon before I can sue the National Weather Service?

Better get a lawyer on retainer, hale-bopp.

Reclaim your Brain™

Toad suggested a site to me the other day.  It's Lumosity, http://www.lumosity.com/, for training your brain.  I haven't tried it yet, but I thought some other Irregulars might want to give it a whack.

Any Thoughts on Mass Shootings?

I don't have any solution and don't know what to say, but I feel compelled to say something.  What the hell is going on with our country?  I mean, we had nut job shooters when I was young, too, like Charles Whitman at the University of Texas Tower.  He killed 13.  But that was very much the exception.  Today, it's not yet commonplace for mass shootings to occur, but it's getting there.  Is it a symptom of a sick society?  Do we blame movies and TV and video games and music?  No matter who or what we blame, is there any way to "fix" it? 

As I said, I have no solution.  I just felt it necessary to say something, something about so many people dying senselessly. 

Closed Captioning I have a pet peeve about Closed Captioning. When TV is closed captioned, Government funds are spent to defray the captioning process. This is great when a good captionist transcribes the spoken word, and a total failure when computer voice recognition is used. Case in point, NetFlix. NetFlix promised me that by this time they would have 80$ of all their content captioned. Sorry, FAIL. They might have 45% captioned. Now, if it was quality captioning, I could give them a By on their lack, but it is bad, nay, terrible captioning. YouTube is a travesty. To see what I mean, check out just about any of the George Carlin skits. Try SNL skits on youtube also. We aren't even talking bad Youtube captioning, were talking incomprehensible bad. Later, I'll find some links. Youtube is free, so you have to give them some slack. NetFlix and other internet movie providers are pay for though, and there is no excuse.

OctoNovemCember and Pumpkin-Headed Turkey Claus

http://www.retailmenot.com/

HappyHoliday.

Open Blog - Monday

It would only be worse on Windows 98.

Ever wonder how much info is gleaned from your every click on the NET? You post on Yahoo, or you post here, or you hit the Home shopping Network Online... Did you know that every place you go, every post you read, there is an app, or cookie, or something? These little invisible trolls are watching you. They see the advertising you look at, They analyze, they track, they grab. Your privacy isn't yours, and because they work in the background you never notice as they go about their work. Sure there are blockers like Adaware and some antivirus packages stop some to most, but not all. I found a new free little program that takes care of these things called Ghostery. Get it, instal;l it, and open your eyes to the little spies you don't really want snooping on you. The only problem is, you have to turn it off to post here as it will block all cookies and trackers unless you give specific permission for a cookie to work.

Open Blog - Weekend

But keep your feet on the ground.

Where's the spam?

Is there a spam shortage?  For years, I have traded spam emails with some friends.  Whenever I received a funny joke or picture or link or whatever, I'd forward it to them. And vice versa. It's where I got a lot of my material.  Now, it's like someone turned off a tap.  There's just a few dribbles of spam here and there.  What gives?

I've gone through dry spells before, but this has been going on for weeks. Who is the Spam Master?  I'm going through spam withdrawal and it ain't pretty.  Friends, Romans, countrymen, send me your spam!

Has anyone ever walked up to you and asked, “Are you Huck Finn?” “Uhhh, say what?” This was the issue I faced this morning. I haven't posted as Huck in a very long time and while I hadn’t forgotten you guys, I needed to step back from how radical I was becoming in the Con/Lib wars. I have another persona, actually a different handle with the same attitudes and style and if a computer were used, it might find the similarities of style and structure. Still, I was posting and fighting too many wars. This Blogshere is a nice rational one and doesn’t need soldiers of reason and doesn’t need a counter to rabid conservatism (or rabid Liberalism). Still, I’ve missed you guys. So there I was, sitting in this chair of inquiry, the torturer had her tools of choice, and asked, “Are you?” As I cringed from the gleam of her probe, I slowly nodded my head and said, “Yes.” You know, when it comes to dentists, I’ll admit to anything. That bright light glaring in your eyes, the fear of, “This won’t hurt a bit,” and the knowledge one little slip will put you to the Moon, make you want to be truthful and hope that you say the right thing. She looked at me and exclaimed, “Well where have you been?” “Uhh, say what?” Well lets see guys, I’ve been dying, then didn’t die (again). When it comes to dying, and not dying, I got it covered better than a troop of cats. Looking back I don’t remember if I told about the double bypass at the Hospital from Hell (St. Mary’s) which is a true story of incompetent mayhem, the story of the Pacemaker/defib, the story of the left ventricle blood clot, and for sure not the story of a rogue doctor trying to put me in a nursing home due to my progressive nerve disorder. If anything will make a guy crawl in a hole and bang the lid down tight, it is the fear of involuntary Nursing Homes. Don’t make waves, don’t draw attention, run away, run away. I have been writing now and then though. Always have that need to let the BS drip from my fingers. I just never thought I might actually have a fan out there. That’s the funny thing. I’ve conversed with you guys, and I jaw with other bloggers elsewhere, have heard there are far more lurkers than posters at any site, but never really thought a Lurker would one day approach me and say, “Get to work! We miss you.” Ya know, I once wrote for a prestigious national magazine and discovered, I HATE fame. Yeah, that’s just silly. Everyone wants to be the center of attention, don’t they? Well, no. Not everyone. I’m a loner with a small group of tight friends, and when people I never saw before started coming up and clapping me on the back and exclaiming, “Hey Bro!” or “Hey Huck!” (not my pen name) like I was a long lost brother took me back. That’s what happens when you start to become famous, and my insecurities clamped down hard. Who, me insecure? I must be, because I sure didn’t like it. For me, the thing about being a biker is the brotherhood and knowing where you stand among your peers. You break bread with them, drink a beer with them, smoke that joint with them and pound down the miles, and in the end, you know they have your back because you have theirs. Having a nameless face slap you on the back and act like you just pounded down a thousand miles at their side seemed to always spook me. I understand now how their familiarity grew as they read my work, and might even be able to endure that sort of hero worship now, even though I know I‘m no hero. Hell, I’m the guy that slipped here and in a fit of anger spewed a very vulgar diatribe at the city. That diatribe is why I faded. Even though I had apologized, I felt the cooling and knew I needed to take a vacation until the anger at my mistake wore down with time. I faded, and time marched on. So here I am again. I have stories, and have lived a bit more life. Maybe I can keep from saying peepee kaka words and upsetting everyone again. No one here is anyone I wish to upset. Give me a few days to dig in my files. I’m sure I have something someone will like to read and not take too much offense at. We’ll see.

The Final Fall Pictures!

Yes my final fall pictures are here. I just can not believe the end of the beautiful colors has come to an end. While we were up north Drew's parents had let me know about a different pine tree. In this picture above is a Tamarack Tree on Hwy DD in Pickeral Wi.. The needles are very short and very soft. This tree is green in the spring and summer and turns yellow in the fall. I am so thankful for mom and dad for letting me know about the Tamarack Tree they seen another picture of this tree on another post to let me know.

This picture is on Hwy W in the town of Doty by were my mom use to live. Yes it was raining up north all weekend. I just could not believe the fall colors were still up there but some trees are bare up there too.

This picture was taken on Hwy 55 in the Menominee Reservation. Yes I stopped in on the road to take this picture because it looks like a tunnel of fall colors you are going under. It was so pretty when we went back and forth to town I knew this was one picture I had to get.

Drew told me to add this picture because it does show the fall color of the tree in the back and no leaves on the tree with the Bald Eagle. This picture was taken on Hwy 55 by Lily Wi.. To get this picture I made a u-turn in the middle of the road. Drew asked me what I was doing and I told him I think I seen an Eagle in the tree. Sure enough that is what I seen and we had gotten some beautiful pictures of him. He started to get skiddish so I went and turned around to get back to the house. The next day when we went to the hospital to say goodbye to my son and his girlfriend my son told me an Eagle swooped down and went past him. I believe to this day that was my dad telling my son congratulations for his son. My son believes the same thing.

I hope everyone has enjoyed the fall colors as much as I have taking the pictures to share with you. Please feel free to leave your comments!

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone! Another amazing episode of Four for Fridays is here! It's been another long week for me. Too much work and not enough play. Anyways, are you ready for some questions? Well, here they are....

1) If you had a call to appear on the "Jerry Springer Show" what would you do?

2)  If you would change something about yourself, what would you change?

3) What constellations can you recognize in the night sky?

4) What magazines do you read?

Enjoy your weekend!  

Open Blog - Friday

Shalom aleikhem.