BBB Pulp Pick - Rangeland Love Stories

Roy and Dale had nothing on characters from the 63 issues of "Rangeland Love Stories" published from November 1928 to July of 1934. Actually, the series started as "Rangeland Stories" but as with many tales, love became the focus.

News from all over - Albany

The key prosecution witness in the Houghtaling family insurance fraud case finally took the stand Thursday, detailing an alleged scam to crash a rental truck into one of their homes to claim enough insurance money to renovate the kitchen.

"Donna didn't like the kitchen," said Cook, a family friend who was a charged defendant in the case. "And Joe wanted to get his money back and make a healthy profit."

"We decided to hit the garage instead of the house because you'd get just as much and it was easier to get at," Cook went on. "It all started out with me and Joe doing the basic plan. Then he talked to his parents, his wife, her sister, his brother and sister. We all decided who was going to be the driver and how much the damage would be."

Then, Cook said, Donna Houghtaling began cruising Salvation Army drop-off sites on Sunday nights, knowing the bags of clothes, toys, furniture, appliances and other items wouldn't be brought inside until Monday morning.

She took what she wanted and then stored it in the garage to be claimed as damaged goods after the collision, he said. Cook said Warner also started carting over valuables to the garage as did he and Joe Houghtaling, including some broken TVs behind a repair shop.

When the day came, Cook said he backed the truck into one side of the attached garage. But, Joe, who was unsatisfied with the impact, hopped behind the wheel and hit it again himself, on the other side.

After the crash, he said Joe submitted a bid to the insurance carrier, through his maintenance company, JMS Services, to be paid to dismantle the wrecked garage that was owned by his relatives.
Source

Today in History - 1889

The first national holiday in the United States was celebrated. The citizens of the U.S. observed the centennial of George Washington's inauguration.

Quotable Quote

Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.
-George Washington

BBB Destination - Alamo Heights

Next time you're down near San Antonio, check out Barney Smith's passion for art ... a very unusual kind of art that keeps the 82-year-old spry. From the outside, the Toilet Seat Museum looks like a giant outhouse. And, Barney Smith is king of the thrones.

Over the past 35 years, the retired master plumber has made almost 700 toilet toppers. A few take your breath away. Others are like a trip to the dentist, and some are truly frightening. It all started with antlers.

"My dad and I would go hunting and get a little buck," says Smith. "I would cut its horns off, and I picked up a toilet seat one day, a good lid, and I put my horns on that and hung it up. I said, 'Well, I like the idea of that becoming a wall plaque.'"

So it began. But the first wooden wonder to actually become a museum piece was made with dog tags. Smith promised his wife he would stop making toilet seat plaques at number 500. Since I started out with dog tags, I need to fix some dogs on there," he says. "I put that at number 500. That's the one that I was supposed to quit at … But I didn't. And, I've been in the doghouse ever since."

That's because his wife of 64 years thinks his hobby is a load of hooey, but not everybody in the family sees it that way.

Smith is "semi-famous" because about 1,000 visitors go to see the museum annually. He gets his inspiration from just about anywhere -- his life, pop culture and even current events. And there's no real end in sight. Smith has lots of ideas waiting in shoeboxes.

There's one little thing Smith really wants, but doesn't have. It belonged to his wife. "She had gallstone surgery. I did get her IVs and everything that pertained to her surgery," Smith says. "I've got that on a toilet seat, but not the gallstones … She's got them hidden from me.
Source

News from all over - Somerset

A large English cheddar cheese has become a star of the internet, attracting more than 1 million viewers to sit and stare at it as it slowly ripens.

First placed in front of a webcam in late December, the Westcombe cheddar from West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers leaped to public attention in early February and has since attracted viewers from 119 countries.

"The hits went over 1 million [recently]. It has been a real challenge keeping the cheese up and running with all the interest it has generated," a spokesman for the company running the website said.

Watchers have tuned in from as far afield as Albania and New Zealand, although most are from the United States where a school has even sent in pictures of two crocodiles to guard the cheese.

"The whole idea was to show people how real food is made – and it seems to be working," cheesemaker Tom Calver said. "It takes a year for the cheese to mature. This is not fast food. It is slow food."

["keeping the cheese up and running"??]

Today in History - 1865

Cornell University was created by a New York State Senate bill that named the university as the state's land grant institution. Senator Ezra Cornell offered his farm in Ithaca, New York, as a site and $500,000 of his personal fortune as an initial endowment. Fellow senator and experienced educator Andrew Dickson White agreed to be the first president. During the next three years, White oversaw the construction of the initial two buildings and traveled about the globe, attracting students and faculty.

Quotable Quote

How can you govern a nation that has 246 varieties of cheese?
-Charles de Gaulle on France

Today's Chuckle

Actually there were several candidates ... but none more "chucklely" to down right lolf as a post over at John's Lousy Blog ... enjoy the classic George Lucas in Love

BBB Geeky Novelty

If not the ultimate, certainly the penultimate geeky item is the slide rule. And here's a site that let's you in on more slide rule goodness than seems natural. My personal favorite is the circular slide rule. Such a "calculator" was incorporated on this Seiko watch. Sooo cool.

Today in History - 1803

A meteorite shower of more than 3,000 fragments of an L chondrite that rained down on the town of L'Aigle in Normandy, France, 70 km west of Paris. It proved to be a turning point in the understanding of meteorites and their origins. Until this time, the idea that rocks came from space seemed fantastic, and even witnessed meteorite falls were treated with skepticism. But, upon hearing of the extraordinary events at L'Aigle, the French Academy of Sciences sent Jean-Baptiste Biot to investigate. His passionate paper describing how these stones must undoubtedly be of extraterrestrial origin effectively gave birth to the science of meteoritics.
Source

News from all over - Princeton & New York City

Writing in the prestigious British science journal Nature, an elite scientific duo say they have devised an equation to describe beer froth. The breakthrough will not only settle the vexatious lager vs. stout debate, it will also help the quest to pour a perfect pint every time.

Beer foam is a microstructure with complex interfaces. In other words: a cellular structure comprising networks of gas-filled bubbles separated by liquid. The walls of these bubbles move as a result of surface tension -- and the speed at which they move is related to the curvature of the bubbles. As a result of this movement, the bubbles merge and the structure "coarsens," meaning that the foam settles and eventually disappears.

Three-dimensional equations to calculate the movement have been made by Robert MacPherson, a mathematician at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, and David Srolovitz, a physicist at Yeshiva University, New York.

They build on work by a computer pioneer, John von Neumann, who in 1952 devised an equation in two dimensions. The mathematics of beer-bubble behaviour are similar to the granular structure in metals and ceramics, so the equation also has an outlet in metallurgy and manufacturing as well as in pubs.
Source

So Now You Know

The slide rule was invented around 1620–1630, shortly after John Napier's publication of the concept of the logarithm. Edmund Gunter of Oxford developed a calculating device with a single logarithmic scale, which, with additional measuring tools, could be used to multiply and divide. The first description of this scale was published in Paris in 1624 by Edmund Wingate (c.1593 - 1656), an English Mathematician, in a book entitled “L'usage de la reigle de proportion en l'arithmetique & geometrie”. The book contains a double scale on one side of which is a logarithmic scale and on the other a tabular scale.
Source

BBB Swell Site

So, besides vacation, how else do you spend a couple of weeks each year ... why on the toilet, of course. And to while away those hours, there's always been the Farmers Almanac (complete with hole in upper left corner for twine hanging applications). But for my money, Uncle John's Bathroom Readers are as entertaining and a bit more broad reaching. Surf over to the site to see the full complement of reader variations and check out the "Throne Room" for excerpts. [Oh, and don't miss out on the Mother's Day specials!]

[BTW, raise those plungers in salute .. it's National Plumber's Day!]

Today in History - 1976

Because dry toilet paper doesn't always answer the call, a new type is introduced called Fresh'n Pre-Moistened Toilet Tissue.

News from all over - Washington DC

An internal memo circulated at Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) Washington office and given to ITK this week contained pungent warnings for Murkowski staffers: Limit Internet use, stop listening to iPods during the day and stop using the inner-office bathrooms.

“This is a subject I always hate to bring up, but if you have a long, magazine-reading bathroom trip planned (and you know what I mean), please go to the public restrooms,” the memo reads. “We don’t want to subject our staff or constituents to any fowl-smelling [sic] odors while they are in the office.”

Murkowski’s spokeswoman, Danielle Holland, sounded nonchalant about the memo and the fact that it was leaked (so to speak). “It went out from our office manager on Friday,” Holland said. “It’s a routine reminder. We’ve got some new staff on board. Just want to make sure everyone is working from the same page. We get stuff like this all the time.”

Asked if foul smells are a problem, Holland replied, “I don’t sit near the restrooms, so I don’t know — and I certainly don’t deal with administrative stuff during the day.”
Source

So Now You Know

According to to the National Association for Continence, we now know how people spend those hours in their porcelain temples. Some trends: 33 percent of Americans admit they retreat to the bathroom to talk on the phone. Better than half say that's where they do their reading. And 47 percent say it's where they contemplate the future.

BBB Etymology - Goody Two Shoes

A rather quaint and moralistic nursery tale called The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes, which is thought to have been written by Oliver Goldsmith, and which in 1765 was published by John Newberry, one of the earliest London publishers of children's stories. Goody owned only one shoe; when she was given a pair of them, she was so pleased that she showed them to everybody, saying "Two shoes". In those days, Goody was a common nickname for married women, being short for Goodwife, a courtesy title of women of lower social standing in the 1600's, formerly used where Missus (Mrs.)and "Miss" (Ms.) would be used today.

Today in History - 1800

President John Adams approves legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase "such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress," thus establishing the Library of Congress. The first books, ordered from London, arrived in 1801 and were stored in the U.S. Capitol, the library's first home. The first library catalog, dated April 1802, listed 964 volumes and nine maps. Twelve years later, the British army invaded the city of Washington and burned the Capitol, including the then 3,000-volume Library of Congress.

Former president Thomas Jefferson, who advocated the expansion of the library during his two terms in office, responded to the loss by selling his personal library, the largest and finest in the country, to Congress to "recommence" the library. The purchase of Jefferson's 6,487 volumes was approved in the next year, and a professional librarian, George Watterston, was hired to replace the House clerks in the administration of the library. In 1851, a second major fire at the library destroyed about two-thirds of its 55,000 volumes, including two-thirds of the Thomas Jefferson library. Congress responded quickly and generously to the disaster, and within a few years a majority of the lost books were replaced.

After the Civil War, the collection was greatly expanded, and by the 20th century the Library of Congress had become the de facto national library of the United States and one of the largest in the world. Today, the collection, housed in three enormous buildings in Washington, contains more than 17 million books, as well as millions of maps, manuscripts, photographs, films, audio and video recordings, prints, and drawings.

So Now You Know

In late-November 2005, the Library announced intentions to launch the World Digital Library, digitally preserving books and other objects from all world cultures.

News from all over - London

Thousands of people gathered in London's Trafalgar Square on Monday evening seeking to smash the record for the world's largest coconut orchestra.

Cast members from the musical "Monty Python's Spamalot" will give participating "nuts" a lesson on how to clip-clop in time to the Python classic "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" before attempting the Guinness World Record title.

The current record for the largest number of people gathered in one location playing coconuts at the same time stands at 1,789 and was set in March 2002 in New York, according to Guinness World Records.

Film at eleven.
Source

BBB Pulp Pick - Is that you, Spidey?

One of the telling characteristics about a super-hero is, of course, his or her costume. So imagine what it would be like to try to disguise oneself while in costume?

On an only loosely related note, check out Spi-Dog!

[Oh, and BTW, what Spider Power might the cabbie be hoping for?]

News from all over - Altamont

Money flying from a camper traveling down a stretch of I-90 caused a stir Sunday afternoon as people slammed their brakes for a chance to grab some cash. The driver of the camper didn't even know the money was there. His boss stashed about $14,000 in the vents of the trailer. "He had stashed it...forgot about it."

For responding troopers the scenario was something of a nightmare. "When we got to the scene there was still money blowing all around." Most people returned the money, but of course others decided to keep it. So far troopers have recovered about $7,000 of the $14,000. Much of cash just... flew away.
Source

Today in History - 1564

Today (St George's Day) is the anniversary of William Shakespeare's birth, and is a time of celebrations in Stratford-Upon-Avon. The exact date of his birth (and death) are unknown but April 23 has been chosen as the day to celebrate and who are we to argue ...

Whiles you are willing it shall come to note,
What time we will our celebration keep
According to my birth. What do you say?

So Now You Know

The Globe Theatre didn’t just show plays, it also served as a bear pit, brothel, and a gambling house.

And with little fanfair ...

Today marks the beginning of the fifth year of BBB entries .. OK, so there were a couple of hiati that spanned a couple of years .. but who's counting?

Here's the very first entry though it be necessary to revise the one for pirates and such, arrr ...

Monday, April 21, 2003

This the the first post of the Bogus Boggess Blog. Hope you enjoy the read. It seems fitting that my first post would have something to do with Disney. So, here are a couple of Unofficial "fan" sites dedicated to The Haunted Mansion and The Pirates of the Caribbean.

BBB Destination - Gatlinburg

One reason to visit Gatlinburg would be its claim to be the gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. For many, such a distinction would tip the balance in terms of a stopover. But for others, there needs to be that something special, something that adds spice. And Gatlinburg answers the call with the "World's only Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum" with more than 17,000 Salt and Pepper Shakers (do you think that's 17,000 pairs?).

News from all over - Oak Park

An Illinois man wanted to get enough money together to take a Metra train to get to drug court in St. Charles, police said. As he was rifling though the glove box of a 2007 Cadillac Escalade that he didn’t have permission to be in, he found an extra set of keys, police said.

Next thing you know, Daniel C. DeMay Jr., 49, was driving the Cadillac worth $76,000 through Elgin at 1:10 p.m. Tuesday while an officer from the Kane County Auto Task Force and Elgin police were waiting for him at Bowes Road and Annandale Drive.

The anti-theft device on the Cadillac had notified Elgin police the car had been stolen. DeMay was charged Wednesday with aggravated unlawful possession of a vehicle and aggravated unlawful possession of a converted vehicle, police said.

Somewhere along the way, DeMay picked up two other passengers. They also were on their way to the Kane County Judicial Center, police said.
Source

Today in History - 1931

One of Louis Armstrong's signature songs, "When It's Sleepy Time Down South" was recorded this day for Okeh Records.

Quotable Quote

My whole life, my whole soul, my whole spirit is to blow that horn...
-Louis Armstrong

Today's Chuckle

BBB Geeky Novelty

Today meets yesterday in this oh so cool iPod docking station with ... wait for it ... tubes. The argument is in these days of less than perfect audio due to compression technologies, the tubes will actually improve the listening experience. Plus, who can resist anything called a "Music Cocoon"?

Check out the Roth website who sells the shown MC4 Music Cocoon. Plus, check out this New York Times article on the subject (may require free registration).

News from all over - Helena

Thursday’s meeting of the Montana Drought Advisory Committee has been canceled due to spring rain and snow.

Jackie Williams, executive assistant wrote, "Due to the wonderful inclement weather and the accumulating moisture levels in Montana today and the wet forecast for tomorrow, we are canceling the Drought Advisory meeting of 19 April."

Weather permitting, the next meeting will be held in May.
Source

Today in History - 1775

At about 5 a.m., 700 British troops, on a mission to capture Patriot leaders and seize a Patriot arsenal, march into Lexington to find 77 armed minutemen under Captain John Parker waiting for them on the town's common green. British Major John Pitcairn ordered the outnumbered Patriots to disperse, and after a moment's hesitation the Americans began to drift off the green. Suddenly, the "shot heard around the world" was fired from an undetermined gun, and a cloud of musket smoke soon covered the green. When the brief Battle of Lexington ended, eight Americans lay dead or dying and 10 others were wounded. Only one British soldier was injured, but the American Revolution had begun.
Source

So Now You Know

There were women in the Continental Army. Probably the best known is Mary Ludwig Hays, nicknamed "Molly Pitcher." She replaced her wounded husband at his cannon during the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. Another wife of an artilleryman, Margaret Corbin, was badly wounded serving in her husband's gun crew at the Battle of Harlem Heights in 1776. Thousands of other women served in Washington's army as cooks and nurses.

BBB Swell Site

From Weird Al's White and Nerdy to Three Blind Mice, haven't you wondered if there was a way to create a Mad Libs version? Well, your wish is "Mad Glibs" command. Why, you can even submit one of your own. Plus, there are links to other "mad" games including word search, cipher, and hangman.

News from all over - Tacoma

The 911 call a month ago reported a safe abandoned on a downtown street. Police hauled it in and have been looking for its owner ever since.

The black metal safe, 4 feet by 3 feet by 4 feet had some scratches and was hooked to a chain. Someone spotted it March 15 and called 911. A police officer found it on the steep hill of Fourth Street just east of Broadway Avenue.

The officer who found the safe couldn’t budge it and called a tow truck to move it. The safe has been in a secured lot at Bill’s Towing since it was found. It will stay there until the owner is located.

Detective Chris Taylor sent messages to officers within his department and to area law enforcement agencies in the hope of finding out more about the safe. No luck. It didn’t match any description of reported lost or stolen property.
Source

Today in History - 1923

Yankee Stadium opened in the Bronx, NY. A record crowd of 74,000 watched the Yankees defeat the Red Sox 4-1 in the first three-level stadium in the U.S.

So Now You Know

Reportedly, there are more Barbie dolls in Italy than there are Canadians in Canada.
Related BBB entry

BBB Etymology - Wrong side of the bed

According to a superstition that goes back to Roman times, it is unlucky to get out of bed on the left side because that is where evil spirits dwell and to do so means their influence will then be with you through your waking hours.

Today in History - 1951

Spavinaw and Commerce, Oklahoma boy makes good as New York Yankee Mickey Mantle has his debut game; he goes 1 for 4. It was opening day against the Boston Red Sox and the Yanks won 5-0.

Quotable Quote

"Boy, I'd give my right arm to be ambidextrous." [When discussing Mickey Mantle being a switch-hitter]
-Yogi Berra

News from all over - Britain

British researchers say they are stunned to discover people get more of a buzz from eating chocolate than passionately kissing their lovers.

"These results really surprised and intrigued us," psychologist Dr David Lewis said after leading a study that recorded brain activity and heart rate from volunteers who tasted pieces of dark chocolate or kissed their partners.

"There is no doubt that chocolate beats kissing hands down when it comes to providing a long-lasting body and brain buzz - a buzz that, in many cases, lasted four times as long as the most passionate kiss."

He says while researchers expected chocolate, especially dark chocolate, to raise heart rates, "both the length of this increase together with the powerful effects it had on the mind were something none of us had anticipated".

The 12 volunteers, all aged in their 20s, wore heart monitors and had electrodes attached to their heads as each placed a piece of dark chocolate on the tongue and without chewing indicated when it started to melt.

Couples were later invited to kiss each other in the same way as they would do normally. The study found that at the point chocolate melts in the mouth, all areas of the brain are stimulated far more intensely and for longer than from from kissing.

They study found chocolate also made the heart beat faster. Some people saw the number of heart beats per minute rise from a resting rate of about 60 to as high as 140. Kissing also made the couples' hearts pound, but not for as long.

Both genders showed the same responses in the tests.
Source

BBB Pulp Pick - Super-Mathematics

Over the years, Superman has had some amazing powers but few more amazing than SUPER MATHEMATICS. Evidently. Kryptonian super-math differs a bit from Earth regular-math since in most Earthly zones, 20 x 16 x 10 = 3,200.

News from all over - Plymouth

To test the idea that given a hundred typewriters and enough time, a hundred monkeys will write Shakespeare's complete works, a team at the University of Plymouth, England, got a grant from the British Arts Council, shut six Sulawesi crested macaque monkeys with a computer keyboard in an enclosure at a Devon zoo for a month, and filmed what happened.

The alpha male bashed hell out of the computer with a stone and the other monkeys did little else but urinate and defecate on the keyboard. Nevertheless, the monkeys did produce the equivalent of five pages of type with a predilection for the letter S. One researcher said that proved the monkeys were not hitting the keyboard at random, so were part of the way towards literacy.

These typing monkeys were the brainchild of French mathematician Emile Borel back in 1909. He introduced us to dactylographic monkeys in his book Statistical Mechanics and Irreversibility. Borel thought the monkeys would help readers envisage the unfeasible improbability of certain physical events, such as the random movement of all the air molecules to one end of a room.

In 2003 a more realistic experiment was started called The Monkey Shakespeare Simulator. The programme simulates a vast number of monkeys typing at random to see how long it will take them to produce a Shakespeare play. It has taken them the equivalent of 2,737,850 million billion billion billion years to produce a phrase from Henry IV, Part 2: RUMOUR. Open your ears . . .

One mathematician calculates that if the universe contains 17 billion galaxies, each containing 17 billion stars, each containing 17 billion inhabitable planets, and each planet supported 17 billion monkeys all typing a random line of type per second for a billion years, their chances of producing To be or not to be, that is the question is almost but not completely zero.
Source

Today in History - 1922

Belvin Maynard, better known as the "Flying Parson", gave his first sermon from an airplane this day.

So Now You Know

A group of monkeys is called a troop.

BBB Admin Note

No BBB entries today :-(

BBB Geeky Novelty

Lest we forget.... 50 or so years ago, this was the delivery mechanism for a 5 *MB* disk drive.

News from all over - Britain

50 or so years ago, the BBC was the delivery mechanism for this rather elaborate hoax ... on on the pending Swiss spaghetti harvest.

In the available video, Mr Dimbleby explains how each year this is a very anxious time for Spaghetti harvesters all over Europe as severe frost can impair the flavor of the spaghetti. He also explains how each strand of spaghetti always grows to the same length thanks to years of hard work by generations of growers.

Today in History - 1954

50 or so years ago, this was the delivery mechanism for rock 'n roll.

(Bill Haley and His Comets recorded Rock Around the Clock.)
Source

Quotable Quote

I have travelled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year.
--the editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957

BBB Swell Site

Almost didn't get the BBB out today because I was digging my cool sounds over at noisegames.com. It's fun, it's infectious, it's simple. (My favorites are desktopblues and slideboy jones but showersong is a hoot, too... actually they're all good.) Enjoy!

News from all over - UK

In the United Kingdom, the act of wandering aimlessly through the Web's endless hyperlinks is now known as "wilfing" (What Was I Looking For). According to a British market research firm, wilfing is becoming a national epidemic. In a survey of 2,412 adults across the country, YouGov PLC found that more than two-thirds of UK Internet surfers admit to at least an occasional wilf, and nearly one quarter estimate that they wilf more than 30 per cent of the time they're online. That's the equivalent of two full workdays every month.

The survey was sponsored by moneysupermarket.com, a price-comparison Web site that no doubt was pleased with the news that shopping sites are the biggest cause of wilfing, followed closely by news and travel sites.
Source

Today in History - 1943

"Nick Carter, Master Detective" began on radio in this day starring Lon Clark in the title role. This popular crime show derived from pulp magazines of the 1880s.

So Now You Know

As a result of the its extensive circulatory network, 40 to 50 percent of body heat can be lost through the head (when wearing no hat, of course).

BBB Etymology - Gobbledygook

The term was coined on March 30, 1944 by Maury Maverick, chairman of the United States Smaller War Plants Corporation. In a memo banning "gobbledygook language", he wrote "anyone using the words activation or implementation will be shot". Maverick later used the word in the New York Times Magazine on May 21, 1944 as part of a further complaint against the obscure language used by his colleagues. His inspiration, he said, was the turkey, "always gobbledy gobbling and strutting with ludicrous pomposity. At the end of his gobble, there was a sort of gook."

Today in History - 1933

President Franklin D. Roosevelt establishes the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), an innovative federally funded organization that put thousands of Americans to work during the Great Depression on projects with environmental benefits.

So Now You Know

Maury Maverick (see BBB Etymology above) was the grandson of Samuel Maverick who, among other things, became famous for not branding his cattle. His cattle, left unidentified and free to roam, were often "adopted" by other ranchers who termed them "mavericks".

News from all over - Napier

One of New Zealand National Aquarium's octopi uses two tentacles to twist the lid off a bottle to get to her dinner. It's a trick she honed with the help of her keepers who noticed she was friendly and would latch on to them when they put their hands in the tank.

She can now open the bottle in 2 1/2 minutes when there's a tempting crab inside. "Octi" isn't on display, but lives in a tank out the back where she spends most of her time hiding in a shell until a keeper comes to play.

Opening bottles isn't the only trick. The octopus has also learned to rise to the top of the tank, eye up the keeper and squirt water in his face.
Source

BBB Pulp Pick - Guess who ... oh, I gave it away

I'm not certain of the date on this one but I like it because, well, you'd think a signed "glossy" from someone with a secret identity at least wouldn't lead off with the, uh, secret. And then just to be sure you know who it is, there's a parenthetical clarification.

News from all over - Queens

A retired New York couple are moving the 2,400 miles to Arizona by taxi. Betty and Bob Matas are set to move next week from Queens to a new home in Sedona.

They arranged to send their belongings, but they were in a quandary about how to transport themselves. The native New Yorkers do not drive and were concerned their two cats might not make it on a plane.

A solution presented itself in the form of taxi driver Douglas Guldeniz, whom the Matases met when they hailed his cab after a Manhattan shopping trip several weeks ago and started talking about their forthcoming move. "We asked: 'Do you want to come?'" said Bob Matas, 72, a former audio and video engineer for advertising agencies. "And he said: 'Sure'."

It was initially "a gag", Mr Matas said, but it became a real plan over the ensuing weeks. Mr Guldeniz plans to drive ten hours a day and charge a flat fee of $3,000. The Matases also are to pay for the gasoline plus Mr Guldeniz's meals and lodging.

"I want to do something different," said Mr Guldeniz, 45, a taxi driver for two years. "I want some good memories."
Source

Today in History - 1953

Warner Brothers premiers it's first 3-D film, the thriller "House of Wax".

So Now You Know

"House of Wax" director, André De Toth, only had one eye so he never was able to see the 3D effects.

BBB Destination - Menlo

On a quiet stretch of Washington State Highway 6, between Chehalis and Raymond, at a place named Menlo, stands the Washington Heritage Marker for Willie Keil’s grave.

Willie was born January 12, l836, in Bethel, Missouri. His father, Dr. William Keil, was the leader of a religious sect known as the Bethelites. In l855, they decided to follow their dream and come west to find their "promised land." Willie, who was just 19, was completely dedicated to the idea and was thrilled at being a part of the proposed adventure. He learned to drive a three-ox team and became so good at it that he was given the honor of driving the number one wagon. Sadly, when it was time for the wagon train to set out, Willie fell desperately ill with malaria. He was so afraid he would be left behind that he made his father promise that, no matter how ill he was, Willie would make the trip.

Dr. Keil had the leading wagon fitted out as an ambulance so that he could keep his promise to his son. Four days before the designated date of departure, Willie died. That was May 19 in the year of l855.

Dr. Keil had promised his followers he would take them to "a cool, green and beautiful land beside a rushing river" and he also remembered his promise to Willie, so he and the elders of the sect built a sturdy, wooden coffin and lined it with lead. Then, Dr. Keil ordered a load of 100 proof Golden Rule whiskey, poured it into the coffin around Willie, and nailed down the lid. It was carefully placed in the number one wagon, which Willie had hoped to drive.

A little west of Ft. Laramie, a band of Indians in war dress approached the wagon train, who were sure they were in for big trouble. A painted brave rode close and pointed to the black box. Dr. Keil pried off the lid and the Indian looked inside. At their leader's signal, each member of the war party rode slowly by and gazed solemnly into the coffin. Then, they turned and quietly rode away.

On a wet, chilly November day, six months after they left Missouri, the Keil party reached their intended destination at Willapa near the Washington coast. Nineteen-year-old Willie, in his coffin full of whiskey, was finally laid to rest.
Source

News from all over - Manchester

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats had to cancel Thursday night's home opener because of all of the snow, but they have put out the call for fans with shovels to try to get the turf cleared so they can play Friday.

The team is offering free tickets for any Monday-to-Thursday game to anyone who shows up with a shovel Thursday afternoon and helps clear snow for a few hours. By 3 p.m. Thursday, one fan had showed up.
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Today in History - 1896

The Games of the I Olympiad, began on this day in Athens, Greece. These games were the first modern Olympic Games and the first Games since Roman emperor Theodosius I banned the Ancient Olympic Games in 393.

So Now You Know

Abe Lincoln was the only president awarded a patent: a system of buoying vessels over shoals.

BBB Geeky Novelty

Q has been busy again ... when 007 needs to covertly (was 007 ever covert?) record his nemesis at an outing of the great American pastime, what better sleuth device than the Baseball Cap Camera with Digital VCR/Monitor? (MLB team logos optional - and may interfere with recording.)

Today in History - 1909

Albert Romolo Broccoli was born this day. Broccoli was a film producer of more than 40 movies will be best remembered for his contribution to one of the most successful film franchises in history, James Bond.

News from all over - England

James Bond star Daniel Craig has topped GQ magazine's annual list of the most stylish celebrities. GQ said that Craig's sharp suit worked so well in Casino Royale because it seemed "like an upgrade" of the clothes he would naturally wear.

"No Bond since Sean Connery has worn it better," the publication added.
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So Now You Know

Q's Real name is "Major Geoffry Boothroyd". He tried to teach Bond two things:

• Never let them see you bleed.
• Always have an escape plan.

BBB Swell Site

Ending eight years of study on the subject, architect Jean-Pierre Houdin released his findings on the mystery about how Egypt's Great Pyramid of Khufu was built including a computerized 3-D mockup showing how workers would have erected the pyramid at Giza outside Cairo.
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News from all over - Hanksville

A unique new space suit is being tested in the Utah desert starting Monday. It's part of the future of the space program, under development for when astronauts land on Mars.

The NDX-1 space suit is being designed by the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium. They're trying to make a suit that is light-weight for landing on a planet, but self-contained like those used by astronauts in zero-gravity conditions today.

Utah's "Mars Desert Research Station" lets scientists test how the suit works in an environment similar to that on the Red Planet.
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Today in History - 1914

The first known serialized moving picture opened in New York City. The Perils of Pauline starred Pearl White.

As a side note, Ithaca was a silent film center from 1910 through the 1920s and known as "The Film Capital." Wharton Studios, located in Stewart Park, produced such films as The Perils of Pauline. Silent film stars who have filmed in Ithaca include Pearl While, Lionel Barrymore, Irene Castle, Warner Orland and Oliver Hardy.

Quotable Quote

Will humans be as clever to make life appear on Mars as they are to make it disappear from Earth?
-Paul Carvel

BBB Etymology - Alcatraz

The word alcatraz comes from the Spanish and Portugese word for "pelican", which derives from the Arabic al-qadus, referring to the bucket of a water-raising irrigation wheel. The bird was so named because it was thought to scoop water into its beak pouch to transport to its young in the desert.

Today in History - 1868

The largest wave ever ridden by a surfer is purported to have been 50' high at Ninole, Hawaii. The surfer, Holua, rode the wave only to save himself from being crushed by it.

Locally generated tsunamis caused by volcanic earthquakes in the Hawaiian Islands have been few in number - only six in the last 100 years. Only one of these six caused severe destruction and heavy loss of lives - the tsunami of April 2, 1868, along the southeast coast of Hawaiʻi Island.

News from all over - Langley

Alden Couch, who celebrated his 101st birthday Monday, just passed his Washington state driver's test and says he did so with flying colors. "I haven't parallel parked for 10 years and I sailed through it like nothing," he said recently.

A resident of the Whidbey Island town of Langley, Couch took a birthday drive down to the local senior center, where his friends threw a party for him. After two cakes and a round of dancing, he drove home, where the phone was ringing with birthday wishes.

The state's decision to give his father a driver's test took a lot of pressure off his 64-year-old son, Bill Couch, of Clinton. The son said he sometimes follows his father in his car to make sure his dad is driving safely.

Alden Couch's new license that he received in the mail a little more than a week ago expires in 2012.
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So Now You Know

During the peak of construction of the Empire State Building, there were more than 3,000 men at work at one time. They stacked roughly 10 million bricks and 200,000 cubic feet of Indiana limestone. The 103 floors took 410 days to complete.

BBB Pulp Pick - Futuristic Science Stories

And they say there was no real science vision back in the early 50s. Not so with the British Futuristic Science Stories.

This edition tells the tale of a "World of Dread" ... a foreshadowing of what Al Gore has made so clear. That's him in the bubble, right? (no, the other bubble ;^)

News from all over - Walthamstow

A randy cop is facing prosecution after raiding a brothel — and allegedly returning later for sex. Married Manjit Johal, 42, even put a community officer on the front door of this East London den to keep look-out, it is claimed.

The Met sergeant, who heads a community police team, faces a disciplinary hearing and is likely to be sacked. He is due in court later this month.
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Today in History - 1513

Near present-day St. Augustine, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon comes ashore on the Florida coast, and claims the territory for the Spanish crown. Although other European navigators may have sighted the Florida peninsula before, Ponce de Leon is credited with the first recorded landing and the first detailed exploration of the Florida coast. Ponce de Leon named the peninsula he believed to be an island "La Florida" because his discovery came during the time of the Easter feast, or Pascua Florida.

In 1521, he returned to Florida in an effort to establish a Spanish colony on the island. However, hostile Native Americans attacked his expedition soon after landing, and the party retreated to Cuba, where Ponce de Leon died from a mortal wound suffered during the battle.
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Quotable Quote

The heart is the real Fountain of Youth.
-Mark Twain