Saturday, November 29, 2014

Friday, November 28, 2014

Useless Information


 
Did you know:
 
When the Panama Canal was being built people were dying so fast, at an average of 500 per day from malaria and other diseases they ran out of graves.
 
So the French bought 55 gallon drums from Cuba, put the dead bodies in the barrels and sold them throughout Europe as medical cadavers which in turn helped pay for the digging of the canal.

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone and welcome back! It's my weekend off from work, therefore I'm finally am relaxing.... It's great! Anyways, your questions....

1) What are you the most thankful for Thanksgiving?

2) Do you shop on Black Friday?

3) What is your favorite part of your Thanksgiving meal?

4) How often do you watch the weather forecast?

Enjoy your weekend!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Wish me luck!

This lady had me laughing, I can only imagine
what this is going to be like to tackle, wish me luck!
UPDATED 
This one is mine, I'm surprised I did ok!
I think I tried making the cavity too open, it kept sagging, I had to go outside and hold it til it cooled enough to hold it's own til I could stuff it - 
 

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my Chilly Willies.  How are you?  I’m not dreaming of a white Thanksgiving, but I think we have no choice.  Last year, it wasn’t until December before winter unleashed its fury upon us.  The winter solstice is a month away.  This is supposed to be fall weather.  Tell that to the Buffalo residents who received up to 7 feet of snow.  What do you do in 7 feet of snow?  What can you do?  The people must be burrowing tunnels like hamsters.

Our vaunted and god-like Green Bay Packers beat the snot out of the Minnesota Vikings this past week.  Expect more of the same this week when the Packers take on the New England Patriots on Sunday, November 30, 7:25 3.25 PM (thank you, Ms. OKIE), at Lambeau Field.  Massacre them, Packers!

In the Irregular Football League, my Screaming Psychics are still near the bottom of the heap.  I guess that’s what I get for cutting their pay just before the holidays.  Start winning and we’ll start making some money.

Of course, I must say Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!  Most of you ladies have spent days in preparation for this.  God bless us all and don’t forget to count your blessings.  Turkey and all that are a great part of the tradition, but don’t forget to say, “Thank you.”

There’s just the three of us this year, so I’m not cooking a big bird, just a 10 pounder.  That’s still plenty to get us stuffed and thankful. 

Here’s a personal admission: I can’t stand all of the Christmas music wherever I go.  I find it tedious and tiresome to hear the same old songs over and over.  I think stores and restaurants should go with their regular music programming and then intersperse Christmas songs here and there.  We know what time of the year it is.  We don’t need constant reminders from dunning songs. 

Can we talk?  What about Bill Cosby?  Yes or no?

And what about Black Friday, which is becoming Black Thanksgiving evening?  Are you partaking?  Soon, Black Friday will come right after Labor Day.

That’s it for this week, my loves.  I appreciate all of my readers.  We are all one.

Stay alert for winter conditions and drive safely.  As always, watch out for the children.

Love,
Madame Zoltar®

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

My 6th Week at the VA - Union Grove...

I ended up with a whole new dimension to my job as a Unit Coordinator out at the VA retirement home in Union Grove. Not only am I doing much better (though still room for improvement, trust me), I'm also my own receptionist for the building, and, as if that weren't a good enough in being multidimensioned tasks, I had a young man come in with home made Thanksgiving cards for the Veterans.

So, anyway, he introduces himself as being from Shepherd's College. He asks if I'd heard of that college. I said, as a matter of fact, no. Well, come to find out, it's an actual college in Union Grove, not too far from the VA. It's for special needs adults, and they take in those who need to learn anything from daily living skills to horticulture and culinary arts. Pretty cool.

Anyway, I typed up a nice letter from me on behalf of the veterans and staff. So now, I'm sharing their information in case you know people who could benefit from this college for those who may need extra help getting into the regular world.
Official Website: http://www.shepherdscollege.edu/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shepherdscollege
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shepherdscollge
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/shepherdscollge/

And of course, my favorite type of site, Blogger: http://shepherdscollegeblog.blogspot.com/
Please check them out, I feel like I am some sort of Ambassador. Pretty neat.

To my friends here with the Irregulars, have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 24, 2014

"Letter That Inspired Kerouac's 'On the Road' Found"

By JOHN ROGERS Associated Press 

"It's been called the letter that launched a literary genre -- 16,000 amphetamine-fueled, stream-of-consciousness words written by Neal Cassady to his friend Jack Kerouac in 1950.

"Upon reading them, Kerouac scrapped an early draft of 'On The Road' and, during a three-week writing binge, revised his novel into a style similar to Cassady's, one that would become known as Beat literature.

"The letter, Kerouac said shortly before his death, would have transformed his counterculture muse Cassady into a towering literary figure, if only it hadn't been lost.

"Turns out it wasn't, says Joe Maddalena, whose Southern California auction house Profiles in History is putting the letter up for sale Dec. 17. It was just misplaced, for 60-some years."



I know this doesn't mean anything to most of you, but it's wonderful news to me.

I love you, Jack.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

This is for Madame Zoltar!

Yes Madame Z we have a special one just for you. I was wondering is this the Ex Mr. Zoltar? If so we know where he is and I will let you know. A family member has found his so you can start to get your child support again for Junior. Here is a picture of him-


Four for Fridays

Hello everyone and welcome back! It has been a tough week for me.... It's a wonder that I'm surviving it. Looking forward to leaving the madness behind and getting some rest, Anyways, your questions...

1) What subject are you better at, math or English?

2) What are your plans for Thanksgiving?

3) What is the farthest you have traveled to spend Thanksgiving with?

4) Who is the funniest person you know?

Enjoy your weekend!

Open Blog - Friday


Smile away, you chubby-cheeked chubby cheeks.

"Mother says girl shot in head 'winning the battle'"

From The Journal Times.com:



"MILWAUKEE — Four-year-old Ja’Nyela Marsh-Highshaw is awake and even communicating after suffering a gunshot wound to her head on Nov. 5.

“'They’re calling it a miracle,' mother Janikka Marsh said from the intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee on Wednesday evening, Nov. 19. 'Her neurosurgeon said she’s winning the battle.'

"Ja’Nyela was smiling, using sign language and breathing on her own. Her medically induced coma ended Saturday, Nov. 15, and her feeding and breathing tubes had been removed on Tuesday, Nov. 18.

“'It’s been trying,' Marsh said. 'It’s been a test of faith and I hope we both pass.'”

Read more:  http://journaltimes.com/news/local/mother-says-girl-shot-in-head-winning-the-battle/article_cd4d62db-ff6f-519d-b830-40c29190c2d5.html


God bless Ja’Nyela.  What a nightmare.  A 4-year-old is sitting on grandpa's lap when bullets rip through the house, one of them striking her in the head.

What the hell is the matter with us?  Why do monsters keep popping up all over the place?

Unfortunately, the 5-year-old girl shot in the head in Milwaukee didn't make it.

I don't want to be part of this world.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Seeing In the Infrared: The Seek Thermal Camera

I have neglected this blog for a while, but vow to do better! And I have a really fun entry today.
Infrared cameras have been around a long time but have always been very expensive. Even a low cost Flir camera starts at about $1000. I have had the opportunity to borrow infrared cameras for work and have always enjoyed playing with them and wanted one for myself.
Earlier this year, Seek Thermal announced a new camera that attaches to your cell phone (both Android and IOS) for $200. It looked promising and I decided to take a chance and order one from Amazon. 
The first thing I will say it it took a while. They were overwhelmed with orders and it was backordered for several weeks. Part of the reason I ordered from Amazon is they won't charge you credit card until the product ships (some people complained they ordered from Seek directly and their credit cards were immediately charged even though the camera was backordered). 
My camera finally arrived on Monday. I downloaded the app for my cell phone (free), plugged in the camera and it took right off giving me infrared images. As you can imagine, the first thing you do is take a selfie.
img_thermal-1107409294You can clearly see warmer and cooler parts of my face. It's hard to take a selfie since the camera points away from you! The resolution of the camera is pretty low...only about 32,000 pixels (compare to many megapixels for modern cameras). However, that is normal for infrared cameras to have a much lower resolution and some of the entry level Flilr cameras have resolutions of under 5,000 pixels (such as the Flir E4 which starts at $995) so I would say they are doing pretty good for the price point.
When I got home, of course the cats were instantly the subject of pics. They both have cold noses.
img_thermal1550530536img_thermal992005676
A picture of my television and entertainment center. I believe you can tell where the LCDs are located behind the screen from the heat signature. The big heat source beneath the television is my stereo receiver and the DVR is on the shelf below that.
img_thermal-1910200754
I went outside. The camera works in the dark of course since it detects infrared instead of visible light. You can tell the difference between the lower level of my townhouse which is exposed brick versus the second story that has siding.
img_thermal1302672591
Last night I went to Jersey Mike's subs here in Tucson since I didn't have time to go home for dinner. Couldn't resist snapping a photo of the grill. I believe that is meat for cheesesteaks on the grill. Looks like the one on the left will be done first!
img_thermal-745333136I have been playing with it. I have managed to see footprints in the infrared and can tell if someone has been sitting in a chair recently. You can also use the camera to measure temperatures of objects. I have used this feature but not done any testing to see how accurate the readings are. 
Two minor issues with the camera. I find that if you bump the camera while it is plugged in, it is easy to jostle it enough for the software to lose contact with it. It always finds the camera again quickly so that is not a major issue. The second issue is a software nag. When you plug the camera in, a pop up window appears and asks if you want to allow the phone to access the camera. There is a little box you can check that says always allow this connection. I check that box but it always shows up again and asks the same question every time I connect the camera. Hopefully this will be fixed in a future software release. 
The camera will record video as well. However, the refresh rate is only 9Hz so the video will not be very smooth. Again, I have found this true even with the $1000 (or more) IR cameras so you have to pony up a pretty penny to get around this!
Overall, my first impressions are positive andI hope to play with it for a long time! I will take it with me when observing/photographing outside so I have something to entertain myself with while my camera clicks away.
The other issues I should mention is with the iPhone version. According to Seek's facebook page, Apple has not approved it for use with the iPhone so shipments of the iPhone model are on hold currently and people waiting for that version are not happy. It looks like they are almost caught up with the backlog of orders for the Android version.
You definitely can't beat the price...this is the first time a decent IR camera has been available at this cost and I look forward to seeing what people can do with it!
Reprinted with permission from the Half-Astrophysicist Blog. 

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my frozen delights!  How are you?  I almost went back into the house when I first left and felt the temperature and winds today.  My Lord, I’m not ready for this.  Below zero wind chills in November – ack.  Someone sober up Mother Nature or tip the planet in the right direction or plug the hole in the ozone or whatever, but set things right.  Everyone use your ice dispensers to send ice to the artic and sub arctic where the ice packs are melting.  They should set up snow making machines there and not turn them off until things are right.

Our glorious and vaunted Green Bay Packers dismantled the Philadelphia Eagles last week.  Now they face the hated Minnesota Vikings, this Sunday, November23, at noon, at Vikings Stadium, covered by FOX.  (I haven’t had the location right for a number of these.  Better double-check with THB.)  May the Packers pound the Minnesota Vikings into dust.

In the Irregular Football League, Mr. OrbsCorbs’ Orbliterators continue to duke it out with my Screaming Psychics for last place.  The Half- Astrophysicists continue to dominate the league.  (Personally, I think Mr. hale-bopp has scientist friends working on his team.  They break it all down to numbers, and then feed those into a supercomputer and out pops a list for his roster.)

Did you hear that Charles Manson (80) and some 26-year-old idiot are supposed to get married?  They took out a marriage license.  Serial killer Manson never should have been allowed to live this long.  In days of yore, he would be drawn and quartered buy four horses, one attached to each appendage, pulling in opposite directions.  A serial killer.  A woman 54 years his younger.

Instead, what we get is another media circus in the carnival of life.  Insult after insult to our intelligence.  Maybe they can get Manson a TV show.  Everyone gets rich!  Hurray!

Tsk, tsk, so sorry for my outburst there.  What’s happened to our country?

Hey, don’t be a dickhead when driving in the winter.  Clean all of your windows of snow.  Your exterior lights, too.  Slow down when driving.  Allow yourself extra time.  Be extra vigilant for kids playing in the snow.

Thank you all for reading my blog today.  I think it’s supposed to warm up as the week progresses.  Ha, ha, ha!  We’ll probably get a polar vortex and a foot of snow.

Stay warm, my dears.  I love you all,
Madame Zoltar®

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

"Fucking Okies, I swear….."


http://knuckledraggin.com/2014/11/fucking-okies-ill-bet-money/

Now, don't go taking things too seriously, OKIE.  I saw the heading and picture and immediately thought of you and your barnyard neighbors. 

Cold is relevant!

It is 52 degrees right now in Southwest Florida.  To me, this is the equivalent of your ten degree days!  On top of that, there is WIND!  Add, a bit of rain and it is just plain miserable!  I'm frozen!

Now, if I were smart, I'd hang around here for a day or so and the temps would nice again.  You know, about 78 degrees, approaching the low 80s by the weekend.  Nope, we are heading to SC where the low was 19 degrees this morning.  Average for the next week will be in the 40s.  Oh, heavenly days, what were we thinking!


What's on the Menu!

I know I have not posted any recipes in a long time I am so sorry about that. I was suppose to get a couple from my mom when she came down to Milwaukee last week to help me out yes she forgot again. I found one that sounds so good from a magazine that came in the mail. It is my daughters magazine too. I picked this recipe because of the cold weather we are having. Here is the recipe-

                                              Asian Chicken Noodle Bowl

1- medium onion
2- carrots peeled, sliced in coin shape
3- garlic cloves chopped
2 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs cut in cubes
1-20 ounce can of pineapple in juice
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinager
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1- red pepper chopped
1/4 lb snow peas sliced
4 cups cooked rice noodles
1/3 cup toasted almonds

Drain pineapple and keep 1/4 cup of juice. Put onion, carrots, garlic, chicken in slow cooker. Mix pineapple juice, cornstarch, sugar vinegar, ketchup and soy sauce together very well and cover over chicken. Cook on low for six hours. The last thirty minutes add red peppers, snow peas and pineapple. Serve with cooked rice and toasted almonds.

I am going to try this I hope if anyone else tries this they will share how it was. 

Open Blog - Tuesday


Someone needs an attitude adjustment.

Monday, November 17, 2014

"Man who bungee jumped at Sheboygan flagpole sentenced to jail"

From JSOnline:



VASELINE......

This is what old people do for entertainment when they can't golf anymore!

Click here to watch Raiding Bird Feeder

This is scream to watch.....SER.



Testing Helmets

Oh my, this is something the Chicago Bears would do. And Congrats to them, they finally won a game yesterday after the throttling they received last week from the Pac.


Testing football helmets in 1912


Sunday, November 16, 2014

"Screaming Sweden"



This is humorous and kinda spooky at the same time.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

"Japanese Flip Books"



With all that technology out there, it's refreshing that we can still be engrossed in something so simple.

''Peaceful Protest for Justice 4 Angel'' - Today


 "Please only click 'Going' if you plan to actually attend, so we can get an accurate count of how many are coming. You can RSVP as 'Maybe' if you can't attend in person, but want to show your support.

"Please share & invite your friends!! The City of Racine needs to know that its residents do NOT accept the actions of the Police Department!

"Notice to Our Customers from The Home Depot"

Click to embiggen

:

I rarely go to the Home Depot, or Builders Square when it was there.  I don't own a house.  The only time I'd be there for sure is to look at their small power equipment.  It was all shit until they got Echo brand.  I don't know if they still carrry it.

So I got a free boxspring and matress from management here, but my old wooden bed was missing a slat.  There's plenty of room, so I decoieded two slats would be in order. (I sat on the end of the bed and the head went up in the air.)

I went to Home Depot and got a board and then got a guy to cut it for me.  It was $3 and some cents.  I put it on a credit card, thinking how stupid it is to put $3 on plastic.

Two days later I read that Home Depot was hacked.

I never go there, well, hardly, anmyway, I went one too many times. 

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone and welcome back. The end of the week is drawing near.... Still got another day of work and then Sunday off. Sigh.... Oh well, overtime cash comes in handy. Anyways. your questions....

1) What is the most annoying driving habit you see?

2) When was the last time you gazed at the stars?

3) What is the most dangerous (or scariest) road you traveled on?

4) What do you like on your sandwich?

Enjoy your weekend! 

Open Blog - Friday


Wine time? When will it be bourbon time?

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my frosty friends!  How are you?  Winter will soon be upon us.  Thank you Ms. Minnesota Chick, but please don’t thank me for your recent moderate weather.  Mother Nature is bat-shit crazy.  I asked her, but who knows why she does the things she does?  She’s so wacko, she’s like a burnout or PTSD.  Find a shrink for Mother Nature!

Our heroic and stoic Green Bay Packers routed the Chicago Bears.  Next up, the Philadelphia Eagles, this Sunday, Nov. 16, 3:25 PM, at the Eagles’.

In the Irregular Football League, I wrestle for last place with Mr. OrbsCorbs.  It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it.      

It was good to see such a strong turnout in the recent elections.  As for the end results: “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”  I’m sorry, but I don’t see many jobs coming to Racine. Nor much joy, except for the rich and/or connected.

As you probably already know, there have been numerous media stories and blogs on “Justice for Angel.”  Angel was the dog owned by a local man. The police shot and killed Angel during a standoff.  Some people are very upset: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Justice-4-Angel/770670289647802

Thank you for reading my blog, my dears.  We should huddle together if we get too cold.  We should huddle together in any case.

RIP, Angel.  I get emotional when an innocent is killed.  I love you all!      

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Monday, November 10, 2014

Local Loyalty - Collecting my marbles...

I feel like I'm missing a few too many marbles, 
pausing life until I can find at least a couple. 
This week looks encouraging.
If you find any stray marbles,
 I'll be needing them back, thanks!

Open Blog - Monday


I thought we weren't going to negotiate with the terrorist days of the week

Saturday, November 8, 2014

"Art Howell and his Dog Quandrum"

From Racine County Corruption:

"THE RACINE POLICE HAS DEMONSTRATED THEIR FORCE AS AN OCCUPYING ARMY."

RCC has four blogs on the shooting death of a dog by the police this past week.  Read more here: http://racinecountycorruption.blogspot.com/

Friday, November 7, 2014

"Amazon Echo (Early Beta Version)"



It sounds like Echo has a bad attitude.

The original commercial:

"Proud To Be a 1%’er – The American People Lose Again!"

From Racine Exposed:

"The results of the 2014 Wisconsin Governor’s race show Libertarian Robert Burke coming in at just 1%, while the Democrat – Socialists Mary Burke received 47% and the Republican – Fascist Scott Walker received 52%. The American People just lost again."

Read more: http://racineexposed.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/proud-to-be-a-1er-the-american-people-lose-again/

Four for Fridays

Hello everyone and welcome back! It has been a long, long week.... Too many hours working and exhausted. Still got much more to go.... Here's your questions.....

1) What commercial has inspired you to buy their product?

2) What commercial has discouraged you not to buy their product?

3) Is there (or was there) any special program on the radio you enjoy hearing?

4) Have you had your flu shot?

Enjoy your weekend!

Word Verification (CAPTCHA)

If you're a member of Blogger, you don't have to use the word verification when making comments. Just hit "Publish comment" and you'll be prompted to sign in. Once signed in, you shouldn't see them at all.

Open Blog - Thursday


Where is this jewel-encrusted Friday? I have a spade and a pick.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello, my shivering friends!  How are you? Autumn arrived screaming down like an asteroid and I predict the same for winter. One day it’ll be autumn, the next it’ll be winter.  Winter, three months (or more) of cold, sleet and snow. I can hardly wait.  As my bones age and ache, I may have to move south.  Or just croak. 

The end of Daylight Saving Time is usually easier to tolerate than the start of it.  But I still screwed up and missed three clocks.  The one in my car, of course, I can never remember how to do it. 

No trick-or-treaters at our house.  Everyone is afraid and paranoid these days.  I don’t blame then.

Such an interesting subject: children and Halloween.  Be careful out there. 

I went to have some lab work done today and right at the entrance is a large placard asking you if you have fever plus a whole lotta of other things.  Or if you’ve recently traveled to of from West Africa, they had paper facemasks.

Ebola.  Every couple of weeks there’s some new threat that is going to kill us all.  If it isn’t one thing, then it’s another.  It’s been like this since the Great Recession.

More bad news from the hometown in the form of layoffs at CNH and Johnson Wax.  Those poor families.  It’s real and it keeps getting realer.  Watch the hell are people supposed to eat?

Sorry about the politics, but sometimes one must speak out.  Our city must come together more and more.  We need to slay the dragons of greed and avarice.  They’re just as much a threat as heroin or other street drugs.

The good news is that other 99.99% of the people were perfectly or very well behaved.

I hope the rest of your week goes better than mine.

Love,
Madame Zoltar 

Open Blog - Wednesday


Who would win if Tony the Tiger had a fight with Smokey the Bear?