On This Day

63 B.C. – Caesar Augustus was born in Rome.

1779 – John Paul Jones, commander of the American warship Bon Homme, was quoted as saying “I have not yet begun to fight!”

1930 – Flashbulbs were patented by Johannes Ostermeier.

1962 – “The Jetsons” premiered on ABC-TV. It was the first program on the network to be carried in color.

In case you haven’t noticed I’ve added a new link.  The link will take you to a history site called On This Day.  It has all sorts of History stuff, including quotes, events, birthdays.  Just the kind of thing an Historian would get a kick out of.  Happy birthday Caesar.  What a great human.  His campaign against the Gauls killed an estimated one million people and forced another million into slavery.  The Battle of Alesia is a classic in creative thinking, however, for when the besiegers become besieged.  Feel free to enjoy the various links or offer suggestions to other places. 

Thank you…

Random Thoughts on a Saturday

Here is something important to remember when you come home from grocery shopping.  Make sure that you put away all of the groceries, not just some, because you might forget to put away the M&M Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches.  Of course I discovered my mistake about two hours later when I went to the freezer to have one.

My dad called Thursday and Friday.  He told me he had a job interview Thursday with the local Ace Hardware store.  He called back on Friday to tell me he got the job.  The store is about three blocks from home.  Seventy years old and he doesn’t want to stop working.  That’s probably why he bought the new car, so he’d have to work.

It’s good to see in the news that the cream of our government keep rising to the top.  What a bunch of crooks!  And kudos to John Kerry for doing nothing while an American citizen expressing his free speech rights was electrocuted and beaten down.

On this day in History; 1776, Nathan Hale was hanged as a spy by the British

And:  1945 – General George S. Patton told reporters that he did not see the need for “this denazification thing.” He compared the controversy over Nazism to a “Democrat and Republican election fight.” The comments led U.S. President Eisenhower removing him as U.S. commander in Bavaria.

Who knew that knowing what two buck chuck was would make my favorite girl in the whole wide world smile?

Hey Mark, I’m thinking about going to Dayton.  Maybe we could meet at Bock’s Car.

Watched a movie last night called The Protector.  It’s a classic story of boy meets elephant, boy loses elephant, boy kicks-butt, boy and elephant ride off into the sunset.

We’re Number One!

We’re loud!  We’re proud!  We’re drunk!

The Capital Times reported yesterday that Wisconsin is number one in consuming alcohol.  According to an article in the Capital Times the national average of people who drink is 56%.  Wisconsin — 68%.  Our mission is to help the remaining 32% see the error of their ways.  Wisconsin also leads the nation in drunk driving fatalities.  Miller Brewery must be proud, eh guv?

Oh and three…

History does not judge a person by the adversity they face, but by how they face that adversity.  My best friend’s high school football team, of which he coaches running-backs, is oh and three.  That is the start of what promises to be a rough year.  An educating year.  A year to evaluate talent or the lack thereof and how can the lack of talent be overcome.  Is it a question of heart?  Is it a question of faith?  What keeps one person plugging away when another gives up?  Why this silly blog?  People do stop in from time to time, but no one ever comments.  But I still blog.  Why?

My best friend’s oldest daughter has reached the test age.  No child left behind test age.  She scored in the top one percent of the state.  That’s pretty darn good.  Why is she motivated to learn?  Tough parents?  Smart parents?  They are smart!  Both of them are overeducated.  She has a masters degree and he’s working on his.  Learning is important to them, and so it is important to their daughter.  Why?

We had an intermittent conversation over the phone.  Intermittent because his cell phone kept losing the signal.  Those darn mountains.  An inconvenience to phone calls, but a damn big nuisance when crossing them in a semi during a winter storm.  His phone would cut out, he’d call back, and the conversation would resume  We laughed and talked about politics.  We have very different views on politics, but both got a kick out of Putin’s new toy.  A conventional bomb that doesn’t leave an irradiated landscape behind.  A bomb he thinks is for massed formations of Chinese soldiers, and I think is meant to destroy European cities, or maybe a quick strike against the Alaskan oil pipeline.

The conversation ended when the phone cutout for about the tenth time.  We didn’t get to say good-bye.  Hang in their buddy, oh and three is a tough place to be. 

First Lines

“Once upon a time there was a Martian named Valentine Michael Smith”

Stranger in a Strange Land; Robert Heinlein

“It was the worst of times, it was the best of times.”

A Tale of Two Cities;  Charles Dickens

“To the red country and the gray country of Oklahoma, the last rains came gently, and they did not cut the sacred earth.”

The Grapes of Wrath; John Steinbeck

“Call me Ishmael.”

Moby Dick; Herman Melville

“I am a rather elderly man.”

Bartelby, the Scrivner;  Herman Melville

“Hapscombs Texaco sat on Number 93 just north of Arnette, a pissant four-street burg about 110 miles from Houston.”

The Stand: Stephen King

“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

1984; George Orwell