Chicago Tribune | Chicago, other cities told attack possible around Sept. 11 Oh, goodie. They’re not saying it’s a very credible threat or that the source is reliable, but oh goodie. Supposedly, the terrorists would use hijacked fuel trucks, something counterterrorism experts have been concerned about for years. Gas is already more expensive in the Chicago area than in the rest of the country (for reasons that remain obscure) but imagine how prices will climb if fuel trucks start exploding.
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Okay, I have no idea why the Halloween candy bowl came out this week at work. My TL keeps bringing in candy and refilling it, but most of the time it contains the dregs of the candy world: green and blue Jolly Rangers. An online acquaintance (hi, Leibniz!) complains of a similar candy bowl at his coordinates in space/time/ectoplasm, except that his dregs consist of root beer barrels in addition to Jolly Ranchers. As to why this stuff is appearing, more than 2 months in advance, I really can’t tell you, but it’s not doing me any good. It’s right…
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President George Bush has said he “sympathised” with the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq but refused to heed her call to pull out the troops. Speaking from his Texas ranch where Cindy Sheehan has been holding a roadside protest, Mr Bush said withdrawing would be a “mistake”. Later in the story, Bush is quoted as saying he “thought long and hard about her position.” There you have it: this President is screwing us all over. Hur, hurh, hurrrr. Seriously, though, it disgusts me that he won’t meet with her and explain his “rationale” – the REAL one…
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A couple of Utah news stories that caught my eye… deseretnews.com | Ex-Utahn, convict husband captured Okay, this first one is actually the “Wife springs convict husband from custody, kills deputy” story that’s been reported on the national news. The couple was recaptured in Ohio because they felt the net closing in, abandoned their car, and took a cab over the state line from some place in Kentucky to a cheap hotel on the Ohio side. Turns out there’s a Utah connection, because the woman was from West Jordan. She met her current husband after moving back to Tennessee, becoming…
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USATODAY.com – Milder skin cancers becoming more common among young Years ago we saw a Second City Comedy performance that included a musical sketch where the chorus went “It’s…the…CANCER. ItstheCANCER.” It was performed by people made up to be stereotypical “Chicago old people” of various backgrounds… but everybody had a comic Yiddish accent. It seemed darkly funny then – even after David’s mom’s diagnosis of breast cancer and her complete recovery, 5 years on. Then Peter Jennings died of lung cancer. And the other day, Christopher Reeve’s wife announced she has lung cancer. A few months back, my priest got…
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Chicago Indymedia: newswire/61312 The local peace-and-justice folks pass along plans for today’s visit by President Bush to the Caterpillar plant in Aurora: “War President? VACATION PRESIDENT!†That’s the main message. Bush tops vacation time of any pres while soldiers die. Be at the at the Caterpillar plant in Aurora, Illinois Wednesday Aug 10th 8:30AM, doors open 9, Bush speaks 11. South on Orchard Road at the intersection of rt30 and Orchard Road in S. Aurora. Main Entrance Caterpillar Drive. Questions: Tetricus at Yahoo dot Com. Or at least, they were organizing it. A link for more information appears to be…
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Katie the Wonder Dog came for a visit last weekend – actually, we had her for 3 nights starting on Thursday. She took quite a liking to the soft velour cushions on the leather sofa. Yes, we’re quite the indulgent dogsitters when it comes to Katie’s comfort. She just looked so cute curled up into as small a ball as possible, so that she could fit on top of one cushion. We took a lot of pictures, with and without tripods and external flash and photographic whatnottery. The last night, people in the neighborhood were shooting off fireworks, so she…
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Weather Forces NASA to Delay Landing – Yahoo! News I’m trying not to worry, but I’ll be very relieved when Discovery lands tomorrow. The delay today is weather-related, but the insulation material that worked its way loose is still a big concern. This thumbnail shows astronaut Steve Robinson making a self-portrait with the reflective shield on his helmet during his historic trip to the underside of the Space Shuttle to check the heat shield and remove stray pieces of “gap filler” material. Like everyone, I hope they all make it down safe.
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It’s a state of mind and a state of being. I’m always a little (or more than a little) behind. Would that I had one too, but alas. There’s a lot going on – new great-niece in the family, more family doings coming up in August and September, meetings and more meetings, and it’s all starting to crowd up on the calendar. Yikes! Can I take a vacation from all this?
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Twin brothers Cameron and Damien Barrett want to make a dream come true. They want to be on 9th (or 10th) season of The Amazing Race. Only hitch in this plan no one has called them back. Yet. Being identical twins they hope they stand out from the crowd enough to get the prized spot. But, to help things progress they sent in a video, and just started up a blog about their quest. Hey, I’ll throw in with TV Squad and add my modest Google juice in a good cause. It’s one of my dreams, but these guys have…