BBB Destination - Along the road with Spot and Puff

Sometimes it's the journey rather than the destination and on that journey, where do you stay with your beloved Spot and/or Puff? Turns out accommodations for our furry friends are expanding from the Ritz-Carlton to the La Quinta Inn in Ardmore, OK. Plus, finding a place is a bit easier thanks to BringYourPet.com .

Happy trails!
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News from all over - St. Paul

State Rep. Patti Fritz, DFL-Faribault, has introduced a bill designating the Tilt-A-Whirl the official amusement ride in Minnesota.

Fritz said she's taking up the cause of 52 kindergarten students from her district who say it deserves special attention because it was invented in their town. "I represent children too," Fritz said, adding, "Minnesotans like to have fun, and it's a fun thing to do."

The Tilt-A-Whirl is a platform-type ride consisting of seven freely spinning cars holding up to four riders apiece. Herbert Sellner invented it in 1926 and the first one debuted at the Minnesota State Fair a year later. Sellner Manufacturing in Faribault still makes it.
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Today in History - 1858

Hymen Lipman of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., received the first patent for attaching an eraser to the end of a pencil. It was later invalidated because it was determined to be simply a composite of two devices rather than an entirely new product.

Plus it was no Dixon Ticonderoga!
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Quotable Quote

A horse may be coaxed to drink, but a pencil must be lead.
-Stan Laurel

BBB Geeky Novelty

A Norwegian team has added evolution to hardware ... all hardware that you and I have used so far is made the creationism way, it’s made and can not be changed at runtime through evolution. All changes to existing hardware have to be made through software.

What this hardware does is par up “genes” in the hardware to find the hardware design that is the most effective to accomplish the tasks at hand. Just like in the real world it can take 20 to 30 thousand generations before the system finds the perfect design to solve the problem, but this will happen in just a few seconds compared to the 8-900.000 years it took humans to go through the same number of generations.

The team first started to use evolution back in 2004 when they made the chicken robot “Henriette”, yes a chicken. The chicken robot used evolution, this time software based to learn how to walk on its own. [Thesis]

Evolution solves a lot of problems that programmers can't solve, a programmer can’t think of every problem that might occur if say a robot was sent to Mars and fell into a hole, through evolution that robot could learn how to climb out of the hole without the interference of humans.

The team now wants to make a robot designed to help in the installation of oil pipes and other oil related equipment at 2.000 metres depth, these depths make it almost impossible to communicate with a robot, you’ll either have to have 2-3 kilometres of wires or communicate through echo signals which in turn will give a multi second delay.
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News from all over - Los Angeles

The U.S. Postal Service turned to the characters of "Star Wars" for inspiration as it unveiled 15 new first-class stamps featuring the whole gang from Chewbacca to Darth Vader.

The stamps were unveiled at Grauman's Chinese theater in Hollywood where the original "Star Wars" movie opened 30 years ago. The stamps will go on sale on May 25, after a contest to choose the most popular of the stamps.

Among the "Star Wars" characters depicted on the stamps are Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Yoda, Darth Vader, R2-D2, C-3PO, Princess Leia, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Boba Fett.

The images are from all six "Star Wars" films and David Failor, executive director of stamp services for the U.S. Postal Service, said, "Because of the movies' popularity, we believe these stamps have the popularity of reaching the blockbuster status of the Elvis stamp."

Earlier in the month to publicize the new stamps, about 400 mailboxes around the country were designed to look like R2-D2.
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Today in History - 1848

The flow of water was stopped completely for several hours over Niagra Falls (both US and Canada) due to an ice jam in the upper river. This is the only known time to have occurred. The Falls did not actually freeze over, but the flow was stopped to the point where people actually walked out and recovered artifacts from the riverbed!
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So Now You Know

In 1969 during the Apollo 11 moon flight, the astronauts took with them a die of a postage stamp which they pulled an impression of when they touched down on the moon. Thus, creating the moon's first postage stamp. Once the die was returned to earth it was used to produce the 10 cent airmail stamp issued in September of 1969.

Today's Chuckle

BBB Swell Site

j'ever walk out of a movie thinking about humorous ways the movie *could* have ended? Well, the folks over at "How It Should Have Ended(.com)" have taken that concept seriously and not only scripted new endings but also animated them! (Check the archive for other endings including classics like Superman, The Movie, and Star Wars among others.) They also have a movie review section and their own comics!

Today in History - 1892

Charles Duryea and Erwin Markham signed a contract to design and finance the construction of a gasoline-powered automobile.

News from all over - Darwin

An environmental group said Tuesday it had captured a "monster" toad the size of a small dog. With a body the size of a football and weighing nearly 2 pounds, the toad is among the largest specimens ever captured in Australia, according to Frogwatch coordinator Graeme Sawyer.

"It's huge, to put it mildly," he said. "The biggest toads are usually females but this one was a rampant male ... I would hate to meet his big sister."

Cane toads were imported from South America during the 1930s in a failed attempt to control beetles on Australia's northern sugar cane plantations. The poisonous toads have proven fatal to Australia's delicate ecosystems, killing millions of native animals from snakes to the small crocodiles that eat them.
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So Now You Know

The cane toad is the largest toad in the world. The glands on its neck produce a poison so toxic that it can kill most animals. The cane toad is also known as the giant toad or the marine toad. It was introduced into Australia from Hawaii in the 1930s with the mistaken belief that it would control the destructive sugar cane beetle.

The African giant frog is the largest of all frogs and toads, growing up to 66 cm (26 in) and weighing up to 4.5 kg (10 lb).

BBB Etymology - Hug

1567, hugge "to embrace," perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse hugga, "to comfort," from hugr "courage, mood," from Proto-Germanic *hugjan, related to Old English hycgan "to think, consider," Gothic hugs "mind, soul, thought." Other have noted the similarity in some senses to German hegen "to foster, cherish," originally "to enclose with a hedge." The noun was originally (1617) a hold in wrestling.

News from all over - Sydney

YouTube recently released their 2006 Video Awards and it's worth a look. I highly recommend Kiwi! and the Ask a Ninja series.

As is often the case, there's a really special winner with a simple, touching story line ... the Free Hugs Campaign video is just that. As they say ... In the Spirit of the Free Hugs Campaign, PASS THIS TO A FRIEND and HUG A STRANGER! After all, If you can reach just one person...

Today in History - 1973

A group of Himalayan villagers stop loggers from cutting down a stand of hormbeam trees, starting the Chipco Movement. Dozens more protests followed where people would hug or stick (chipko) to the trees. Sometimes the protests involved groups of people holding up lanterns in daylight so that the officials could "see the light."

So Now You Know

Though somewhat disputed and often challenged, the Guinness world record for the largest group hug was made up of 5,117 students, staff and friends from St Matthew Catholic High School, Orleans, Ontario, Canada. [Couldn't find a pict of the big event.]
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BBB Pulp Pick - Funnyman

After leaving DC Comics and suing that company in a dispute over the rights to Superman, the character's co-creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, rejoined their former DC editor Vin Sullivan — who had bought their character and edited the earliest adventures — at his new company, Magazine Enterprises.

The duo's new creation, Funnyman, starred in a series that ran just six issues (cover-dated Jan.-Aug. 1948). This premiere issue was preceded the previous month by a black-and-white "ashcan" printing for copyright reasons.

A newspaper comic strip debuted in October 1948, but Funnyman also failed to find an audience in this format, and his strip was soon dropped.

Today in History - 1937

The Yankee Clipper, Joe DiMaggio, takes Ty Cobb's advice and switches from a 40 ounce to a 36 ounce bat. The result? His batting average went to .346 with a slugging percentage of .673 and earned the American League Home Run Champion of 1937. Not bad for his second year with the Yankees!

News from all over - Schoemberg

The wildest, wackiest and most groomed beards and moustaches went on display at the International German Beard Championship. Around 200 participants from all over Europe showed off their elaborately-groomed whiskers. Various categories were judged including chin beards, full beards, moustaches and whiskers.
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Related BBB entry

Quotable Quote

Long whiskers cannot take the place of brains.
-Russian Proverb

BBB Destination - Lake Chargoggagoggmanchau- ggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

The lake's name comes from the language of the local Nipmuck people and means something close to "fishing place at the boundary". The lake was an important fishing spot on the borders of several tribal territories and lay at the nexus of many local paths of the Great Trail system. For these reasons the lake was often used as a meeting place.

Algonquian-speaking peoples had several different names for the lake as recorded on old maps and historical records. However, all of these were similar in part and had almost the same translation. Among other early names were "Chabanaguncamogue" and "Chaubanagogum".

A map of 1795, showing the town of Dudley, indicated the name as "Chargoggaggoggmanchoggagogg". A survey of the lake done in 1830 lists the name as Chaubunagungamaugg, the older name. The following year, both Dudley and Oxford, which adjoined the lake, filed maps listing the name as "Chargoggagoggmanchoggagogg".

Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, the extra-long version of the name, is the longest place name in the United States and 6th longest in the world. Its 15 uses of "g" are the most instances of any letter in a word. The name also contains 9 instances of the letter "a" (not including the "a" in "lake"), more than any other word in the English language.

This longest name means approximately "Englishmen at Manchaug territory at the meeting and fishing place at the boundary" and was applied in the 19th century when White people built factories in the area. "Manchaug" is derived from the "Monuhchogoks", a group of Nipmuck that lived by the lakeshore. Spelling of the long name varies, even on official signs near the lake. Webster schools use this long form of the name in various capacities.

Oh, and it's an attractive spot, too.


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News from all over - Newport News

The city Fire Department's new boat sank Wednesday morning - before the department could even take ownership of the $385,000, state-of-the-art vessel.

The boat, moored at a marina by the James River Bridge, was discovered with its back end on the river bottom and the front end sticking up out of the water. Investigators were trying to determine the cause.

Department spokeswoman Dana Perry said the department has two other boats that can be used to fight fires on the water but it doesn't have the capabilities or technology of the new one, which is named in honor of Carl Brashear, the late Navy master diver.
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Today in History - 1950

Beat the Clock began airing Thursday nights on CBS, running 45 minutes with no commercials. Even the show's intro was austere; no theme song, just a shot of the clock ticking off the seconds, as announcer Bern Bennett would say, "It's time for America's favorite party game, "BEAT THE CLOCK..." and then introduce Bud Collyer. The show was telecast from the Maxine Elliott Theater (Studio 51).

So Now You Know

Bobby Leach (1858 in Cornwall, England-1925) was the second person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel, accomplishing the feat on July 25, 1911. He spent six months in the hospital recovering from injuries he sustained during the fall.

Leach later died on a publicity tour in New Zealand from injuries sustained after slipping on an orange peel in the street.

Today's (Audio) Chuckle

"Cow"



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BBB Geeky Novelty

Looking for that computer with design features that clearly think outside the box? Then take a look at these beauties from Suissa Computers. Here's a nice article in the NY Times about Sussa and other attractive designs including Wood Contour (article may require free subscription).

Today in History - 1956

Perry Como became the first major TV variety-show host to book a rock and roll act on his program. Carl Perkins sang Blue Suede Shoes.

News from all over - New York

"A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder," by Eric Abrahamson and David Freedman, is a new book that argues neatness is overrated, costs money, wastes time and quashes creativity.

"We think that being more organized and ordered and neat is a good thing and it turns out, that's not always the case," said Freedman.

"Most of us are messy, and most of us are messy at a level that works very, very well for us," he said in an interview. "In most cases, if we got a lot neater and more organized, we would be less effective."
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Quotable Quote

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Today's Chuckle

BBB Swell Sites

It's never too early to start preparing for the September 19th "Talk Like a Pirate Day", especially given events surrounding the upcoming release of Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End. [Click the title to see a preview. Plus, here's the Disney site.]

Remember, it's all about the prep, and to help out on that score check out Privateer Dragons of the Caribbean where you can hone your pirate language skills, pirate history, find out about pirate clothing, generate a pirate name (male or female) and so much more ...

News from all over - Amsterdam

An 81-year-old Dutchman who saw a shoplifter flee a supermarket in The Hague chased after the thief on his bike and crashed into the man to stop him, police said.

Officers said the 81-year-old had observed the shoplifter 29, run from the supermarket with two employees in pursuit. "The man did not hesitate a moment, followed the fleeing suspect on his bike, rode into his legs, whereupon both fell," police said in a statement.

The cyclist injured his hand and shin in the fall and had to undergo treatment. The shoplifter was arrested and found to be carrying 122 euros ($NZ220 ) worth of cosmetics, police said.

Cycling is very popular in the Netherlands. The famously flat country has more bikes than people with each resident riding an average of more than 900 km a year.
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Today in History - 1961

The Beatles made their debut in an appearance at Liverpool's Cavern Club, where they became regulars in a matter of months.

So Now You Know

The Jolly Roger page confirms that blood red flags were flown by hard-hearted pirates to indicate that they'd be taking no prisoners (sparing no lives). This red flag was more frightening than the buccaneer's basic white skull on black ground. A skull and crossbones was meant to inspire terror, a horned skull suggested a tormented death; other signature flags depicted grisly variations on a morbid theme.
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BBB Etymology - Threshold

"Threshold" originated in the middle ages when houses with stone floors were covered with threshings to keep the floor warm and to prevent it from being slippery. As threshings were added during the winter, they would be scattered and thinned near the door, so people added a wooden board to hold the threshings in -- a threshold.

Today in History - 1985

At 9 a.m. Libby Riddles became the first woman to win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a 1,150-mile (approx.) dog-pulling sled race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska.

She checked into Safety—the last checkpoint before the finish—many hours ahead of her nearest competitor and finished the race through debilitating blizzards in 18 days, 20 minutes and 17 seconds. She raced with 13 dogs and won $50,000. Riddles put the Iditarod race on the map with her storybook win and her photo on magazine covers and front pages of many newspapers. The next three Iditarods were also won by a woman, Susan Butcher, who in 1986 had a record-breaking time of 11 days, 15 hours and 6 minutes. She is the only Iditarod competitor in history to have three consecutive wins.
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Quotable Quote

It's so eclectic. We each bring our own style.
-Adam Bretz

News from all over - Taipei

Organizers lit up a 8.1-mile string of explosives in a southern Taiwanese county, creating the world's longest firecracker in a record-setting attempt expected to last two hours.

TV footage of the Chinese New Year celebration in Tainan County, dubbed "Legend of the Fire Dragon," showed rapid flashes of bright red explosions that created huge wafts of white smoke.

Throngs that had gathered to witness the spectacle wore masks, goggles, and even motorcycle helmets to protect themselves from the pollution.

The firecracker was expected to take two hours to finish burning.
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BBB Pulp Pick - Lois Lane, Slave Girl?

Wait, while Lois Lane as the "Greenish Phantom" might be interesting, I'd much rather know about that Extra! ... "Lois Lane, Slave Girl!"

Today in History - 1831

Edward Smith committed one of the first bank robberies in the United States on this date. He stole $245,000 from the City Bank on Wall Street in New York City. He was eventually arrested, convicted, and sentenced to five years in Sing Sing prison.

News from all over - Cologne

The "Pascha" in the western city of Cologne has introduced reduced rates for sex sessions for clients aged 66 and above.

After testing reductions for senior citizens once a week, the Pascha decided earlier this month to offer 50 percent off sex services between midday and 5 p.m every day. "There's been plenty of demand and people have certainly been taking advantage of the offer," the spokesman said. "Older folks are more active than you think."

The brothel's Web site is keen to stress this point. "Life begins at 66!" it says in an advert for its "senior citizens afternoon" next to a picture of a motorcycle rider.
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So Now You Know

A giraffe's neck contains the same number of vertebrae as a human - seven.

BBB Admin Note

Unfortunately, I had no network connectivity last night, so no BBB entries today. ... Mr. BBB

BBB Geeky Novelty

Gadling reports ... "Though Japan's Skycycle doesn't have any loop-the-loops, I think the roller coaster still qualifies as "terrifying." Located in the mountains of Japan's Okayama prefecture, the coaster looms over the city of Kurashiki, looking like it could come toppling down onto the city at any moment.

"Carrying two pedalers at a time, the carts on the unique coaster -- part of the Kurashiki Tivoli Park -- probably don't provide that cheek-smooshing feeling that really, really fast coasters give, but that's what frightens me so much: being able to stop and look around must be nerve-wracking. Admittedly, though, the carts' pink baskets certainly add a soothing, calming effect.

"Unlike "regular" coasters that maintain an equal distance between cars, it appears that you can cycle up on the car ahead of you and shout at them. Gosh, I'd hate to be behind the guy who can't cycle up that first incline..." More picts
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Today in History - 44BC

Julius Caesar was assassinated on thus day, the Ides of March. BTW, "Ides" marked the approximate middle of the month ... the fifteenth day in the months of March, May, July, and October, and the thirteenth day in the other eight months. The word ides comes from Latin, meaning "half division".

So Now You Know

If you stretch a standard Slinky out flat it measures 87 feet long.

News from all over - Little Rock

Legislators will send Gov. Mike Beebe a resolution declaring "Arkansas's" the proper possessive form of the state's name, but the governor is way ahead of them. His office began using the additional "s" in news releases Monday, said spokesman Matt DeCample.

In what became a grammatical Gordian knot, the Arkansas Senate supported the resolution Tuesday after the House passed it the week before. The Senate vote came after a few groans and an introduction on the history of "the much-debated apostrophe-s" by state Sen. Jim Hill.

"This thing is seeded in history," Hill said, lamenting the lack of enthusiasm on the Senate floor. "I expected more intelligent questions than this."

After Arkansas became a state in 1836, confusion remained on its spelling and its pronunciation, as many maps from the time spelled it without its final "s." A resolution by the Legislature in 1881 formalized its current spelling and pronunciation, making its final "s" silent.

"We've waited 126 years for this," Rep. Steve Harrelson said. "This adds, shall we say, legitimacy."
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BBB Swell Site

Back in 1994 animation historian Jerry Beck compiled a list of the 50 greatest animated cartoons of all-time as voted by folks in the animation industry. Here's a site that purports to have links to most of them. Though there have been other lists, this one is impressive.

Showing up at number twelve, one of my personal favorites, The Rabbit of Seville. Since it's link wasn't working I offer it here. [Towards the middle, the video and audio get a bit out of synch but IMHO it's still worth a watch.]

News from all over - Berlin

A 91-year-old German sparked a rescue operation when he slipped mending his roof and got stuck fast in tar "like a beetle on its back", police said on Tuesday.

Passers-by were so shocked to see the elderly handyman working on the roof they first thought he was planning to commit suicide, according to police in the eastern city of Magdeburg. "In fact he was just re-coating the roofing with bitumen. But then he slipped," said a spokesman for police.

Local firemen carefully detached the man using ropes and ladders. He was unharmed, but had sticky clothes, police said.
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Today in History - 1794

Designed to separate cotton fiber from seed, Eli Whitney's cotton gin, for which he received a patent on this day, introduced a new, profitable technology to agricultural production in America.

Though such machines had been around for centuries, Eli Whitney's gin was the first to clean short-staple cotton. A single device could produce up to fifty pounds of cleaned cotton in a day (up from one pound a day by hand).
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So Now You Know

The first novel ever written on a typewriter was "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"

BBB Etymology - Starboard and Port

Starboard appeared in English around 893 A.D. and comes from the Old English word "steorbord," based on the elements "steor" (steering paddle) and "bord" (meaning, in this case, the side of a boat). According to the OED, " The etymological sense of the word [starboard] refers to the mode of steering the early Teutonic ships, by means of a paddle worked over the right side of the vessel." It would be "inconvenient" to dock a boat against the side with the steering mechanism, so the left side would be "to port".

Today in History - 1895

Award of first submarine building contract to John P. Holland Torpedo Boat Co.

So Now You Know

The greatest ocean descent was made in 1960 in the U.S. Navy bathyscape Trieste, manned by Dr. Jacques Piccard of Switzerland and Lt. Donald Walsh of the United States. In their vessel, these two men reached a depth of 35,979 feet at a place in the Pacific Ocean called the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot in the oceans and the lowest point of Earth's surface.
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News from all over - Norfolk

The Navy's new fast ship is nearly 90 feet long, 40 feet wide and attacks like a sea serpent. It's packed with banks of computers, flat-panel video screens and shock-absorbing chairs to smooth a ride that reaches speeds of more than 50 mph.

Its twin, M-shaped hull leaves little wake. It's odd by design. And there is only one of them. The Navy hopes the craft, called Stiletto, will help transform how it designs, builds and thinks about ships.

Since the end of the Cold War, Pentagon planners have sought to make the military a more diverse force that can fight small insurgencies as well as large battles. The Pentagon requested a high-tech ship capable of delivering SEAL commandos and unmanned vehicles in 2004. The military chose a small firm in San Diego, M Ship Company, that had designed civilian craft but never a Navy vessel. The ship was completed 15 months from contract signing.
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BBB Pulp Pick - Heroic Comics

"Facing Death in a Panda's Mouth!" is from the lead story in this classic 1946 comic. My how our impression of the panda has changed over the years from ferocious to cuddly. But even our friends over at Wikipedia warn "Though the giant panda is often assumed docile because of their cuteness, they have been known to attack humans, usually assumed to be out of irritation rather than predatory behavior."

Nevertheless, "Heroic"?

Today in History - 1929

The first in a series of thirty radio broadcast fireside chats was delivered this day by newly inaugurated Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The first was "On the Bank Crisis" and can be read or listened to (along with any of FDR's other speeches) here.

News from all over - Bejing

A member of China's parliament has demanded the immediate closure of a Starbucks coffee shop set up inside Beijing's Forbidden City. Two months after a television host launched an online campaign to evict Starbucks Corp. from the former home of Chinese emperors, the seven-year-old store has had its logo removed but otherwise it's business as usual, the agency said.

"Starbucks must move out of the imperial palace immediately, and it can no longer be allowed to taint China's national culture," said Jiang Hongbin, who represents the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang. "As long as it stays in the imperial palace, it poses a challenge to our traditional culture."
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Quotable Quote

Starbucks has learned several lessons in China. One is that it really doesn't need to go after the masses.
-Matthew DiFrisco

Today's Chuckle

BBB Destination - LeRoy

Known as the birthplace of Jell-O, this western New York town is also the home of the former Ingham University, the first chartered university for women in the United States. The history of LeRoy is preserved and exhibited at the LeRoy Historical Society, which also maintains the Jell-O Gallery, devoted to the history of America’s Most Famous Dessert. ... Dainty?

Today in History - 1959

Today, debutant "Barbie" would make her way to the American International Toy Fair in New York and receive a cool reception from the toy buyers. She would be viewed as risky to buyers since she was not the typical style selling baby doll of the times. Upon seeing Barbie on store shelves, the public decided differently. By 1960, the mood would change and the orders started pouring in to Mattel. It took several years for Mattel to catch up with the demand for Barbie. Within ten years, the public purchased $500 million worth of Barbie products.
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News from all over - Cleveland

The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" has topped yet another list of the all-time greatest albums. This one is the Definitive 200, a registry of 200 albums "that should be in every music collection," according to the National Association of Recording Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Quotable Quote

I think they should have a Barbie with a buzz cut.
-Ellen DeGeneres

BBB Geeky Novelty

Takara Tomy figures taking photos of your pet simply isn’t enough. What people really need is a way for their pets to take photos themselves. As a result, they’ve come up with the Wonderful Shot Dog Camera. The 3.5 megapixel camera simply attaches to the dog’s collar, where the owner can then press a button on the accompanying remote control to take a snap of what they imagine would make an interesting photo. The camera comes with 8MB inbuilt memory, allowing you take up to 90 shots. You can even set a timer that will automatically take a photo every minute, allowing you to send your dog off on an adventure and view the shots later on your computer. The Wonderful Shot costs 5,980 yen (£27/$51).
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Today in History - 1894

New York passes first state dog license law.

News from all over - San Marcos

A Texas graphics interface designer paints his masterpieces in a place where they're guaranteed not to last for posterity - the dirty windows on his Mini Cooper.

Like many of us, Wade has seen those cars badly in need of some water and has been tempted to scrawl the hackneyed 'wash me' on a dust obscured back window. But one day four years ago, inspiration struck, and the artist-in-waiting decided to attempt something far more ambitious than just a message about dirt. At first, he used his finger to sketch cartoon-like figures on his own car.

Then he discovered a new trick - you could use a frayed Popsicle stick to get all kinds of gray hues in that ash. So he began experimenting and before he knew it his artistic bent - with an accent on the bent - began coming out.

Wade can often be seen zooming his car over dusty hill and trail, trying to accumulate a layer of dirt on the back windshield so he can draw his newest creation.

The 48-year-old has done replicas of the Mona Lisa, Albert Einstein, that infamous picture of dogs playing poker, plus Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night", Boticelli's "The Birth of Venus", a picture of his late dog, various funny faces, a tribute to a magazine writer who wrote an article about him, and even a likeness of "The Last Supper."

He's also received requests to use the ashes of cremated people to draw their likenesses as they roll to their final resting place, a decidedly creepy idea.

"I've always drawn pictures on dirty windows," the artist explains. "It wasn't a conscious decision to develop a new art form. It was just looking for art in everything." Each one takes only about half an hour to create and the results can be astonishing.

He's made about 50 of them so far, and never washes them off, allowing time, nature and the occasional rain storm to do that for him. He takes pictures of every one of them and claims he's never upset when they're gone, calling that the transitory nature of his muse.
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So Now You Know

Dogs are not completely colorblind. While dogs do not have the same color vision as humans, they are able to tell yellow from blue. Like a human with red-green colorblindness, they are unable to tell the difference between red and green.
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Today's Chuckle

BBB Swell Site

Say you have a passion about sunrises ... and photography ... and travel. What better way to bring all three passions together than getting up early pretty much every day (since late December 1998), taking your camera out to a different spot and "capturing" the sunrise.

Well, some folks make their dreams a reality and here's a site that does just that ... you can even order your favorite.

Quotable Quote

Split me infinitives, but 'tis me hour of triumph!
-Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook

Today in History - 1955

NBC presented "Peter Pan" on "Producers' Showcase", starring Mary Martin and Cyril Ritchard, as the first full-length Broadway production on color TV. The show attracted a then record audience of 65-million.

News from all over - Stevens Point

Police dispatchers were startled by a call Saturday evening from a local Wisconsin man who claimed to be staging an unsuccessful break-in at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1919 Wyatt Ave.

24-year-old Zachary Brandl, said he had been using a metal shovel to batter his way through the church doors when he decided to solicit help from the police. Police officers, who previously had been alerted to a suspicious-looking man in the area, encountered Brandl in the church parking lot, where he had been awaiting their arrival. According to police reports, Brandl told officers he had hoped to get married in the church.

Upon searching Brandl, officers found a prescription bottle containing marijuana, at which point Brandl offered to take the police to his home, where he said he was storing more drugs. True to his word, Brandl directed officers to his house, where he showed them a cache of marijuana. Brandl then further volunteered information that he was keeping stolen prescription muscle relaxants in a box in his cabinet.

Police eventually arrested Brandl on charges of criminal damage to property, possession of THC, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of prescription drugs. Police detected no trace of alcohol abuse.
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BBB Etymology - Round-Robin

"Robin" in this phrase is a corruption of the French "ruban," meaning "ribbon". It seems that in 17th and 18th century France, there was a good deal for the average peasant to complain about, but complaining to the King in particular was not a terribly good idea. The monarch's usual reaction to a petition from his subjects was to seize the first two or three signers and have them beheaded. Not wishing to lose their heads, but bent nonetheless on petitioning for justice, clever peasants came up with the expedient of signing their names on the petition in a circle, like a ribbon. That way, no one's name came "first," and, assuming that there were hundreds of signatures on the petition, it was impractical for the King to punish all the signers.

A similar method was adopted by disgruntled sailors in the 18th century British Royal Navy, another institution not known for welcoming criticism. Sailors often signed their names to a petition like the spokes of a wheel, so that no one of them could be considered the leader of a mutiny and hanged.
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Today in History - 1836

Santa Anna's army arrived in San Antonio about 23 February. Some 145 Texans in the area took refuge in the fortified grounds of an old mission known as the Alamo, under the joint command of William B. Travis (for the regular army) and Jim Bowie (for the volunteers).

Over the following two weeks, the Mexican forces continually strengthened to over 2000 troops. During the same period, a few reinforcements for the Texans answered Travis' famous Appeal for Aid and managed to penetrate enemy lines and enter the Alamo grounds, bringing the total strength of the defenders to about 189 men.

After periodic bombardment, the siege ended on the morning of 6 March when the Mexicans storm the Alamo fortress. During the battle, all of the Texan defenders were killed.

Losses in the battle have been placed at 189 Texans against about 1600 for the Mexicans.
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News from all over - Lakewood

Headline: "Flaming Eggs Tossed On Dead Christmas Tree Start Fire"

According to fire investigators, a Colorado woman was cooking eggs on the stove and turned around to get seasonings. When she turned back around, she found the pan on fire.

The quick-thinking woman grabbed the flaming pan and threw it on the back deck. Unfortunately, it landed near the dried Christmas tree from last December. The blaze quickly spread as the tree went up in flames.

The woman told fire investigators she sent the family dog downstairs to get her 3-year-old daughter. The dog nudged the child up the basement stairs to safety, she said.
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So Now You Know

The only U.S. President born in 'The Land of Lincoln' (Illinois) was Ronald Reagan. He was born in Tampico. [Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin on the 348 acre Sinking Spring Farm in Nolin Creek, three miles south of Hodgenville, Kentucky.]

Today's Chuckle

BBB Pulp Pick - Spring Training

This 1941 classic reminds us that the baseball season is upon us. They almost look too happy, don't they?

By the way, notice anything odd about the equipment?
Home plate is backwards

Today in History - 1988

NBC telecast the game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees at Ft. Lauderdale. This marks the first time a Spring Training game was nationally televised.

News from all over - Los Angeles

The T206 Honus Wagner baseball card is considered the most valuable baseball card in existence, according to SCP Auctions, the new minority owners of the card. SCP said on Tuesday the primary purchaser, a Southern California collector, wished to remain anonymous.

Honus Wagner, a former Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop, was one of the first five players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Originally released in 1909, there are no more than 60 known cards in existence. The card just sold is believed to be in the best condition of all the known Wagner cards.
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So Now You Know

Reportedly, Babe Ruth wore a cabbage leaf under his cap while playing baseball, and would change it every two innings.

BBB Destination - Croatan

The infamous Self Kicking Machine sits outside of a nice antique/gift shop called Martha's Favorite Things in this unincorporated town in North Carolina.

The original was built by Wilber Herring at the request of Tom Haywood, the store owner, and installed in the early thirties. Over the years it deteriorated andwas donated to the NC Museum of History in Raleigh by Mr. Haywood's family. A previous store owner (1993-1996) had a replica built exactly to Tom Haywood's specifications.

Legend has it that Lucille Ball kicked herself on Tom's machine after losing a political wager.

Today in History - 1866

Excelsior Needle Company began making sewing machine needles. The firm was organized in February inspired by Hopson's and Brooks' "Improvement in Pointing Wire for Pins" machine and what it could produce. Hopson and Brooks received 100 of the 800 shares composing Excelsior Needle stock, relinquished their patent rights for $5,000, and left the realization of their invention's potential in the hands of Achille F. Migeon, Excelsior Needle's president, and Charles Alvord, the company's secretary and treasurer.

Migeon and Alvord wasted no time in getting the business started, obtaining a two-story, 16-room building for $3,000 six days after they were elected to their posts. The wood framed structure became Excelsior Needle's first factory. By 1868, two years after beginning business, Excelsior Needle had produced enough sewing needles to begin selling them to sewing machine manufacturers, the largest of which was the Singer Company. Two years later, when roughly 700,000 sewing machines were being manufactured each year, fueling demand for Excelsior Needle's products, the fledgling manufacturing concern had sold enough needle blanks to warrant the relocation of its operations to larger quarters closer to rail transportation.

By the mid-1870s, Excelsior Needle was churning out 30,000 sewing needles a day, six days a week, and generating approximately $75,000 a year in sales.
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News from all over - Tokyo

"Cleaning the toilet to attract luck" published this month is the latest in a series of books advising readers on how to attract good fortune using a brush and an array of cleaning fluids.

"Don't just wipe the floor, polish it," the book instructs. "It's important to maintain a positive mood while cleaning." The books are inspired by Buddhist teachings and feng shui, a traditional Chinese belief that people's fortunes are determined by their surroundings.

The idea that Lady Luck may be hiding in the lavatory has been taken up by magazines and television programs. "I won the lottery! I married my ideal person! I got pregnant!" read some of the claims on the cover of another book on the topic, published last year.

The idea that a clean toilet can bring good fortune, or even make you more beautiful, has existed in Japan for many years, according to Yuka Soma of Makino Publishing in Tokyo, editor of one of the toilet books.

But she is still waiting for a big stroke of luck. "I've always cleaned my toilet every day, so it never really gets dirty," she said. "At least it's easy that way and it probably helps keep my family healthy," she said.
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Quotable Quote

When you've finished your own toilet in the morning, then it is time to attend to the toilet of your planet, just so, with the greatest care.
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery

BBB Geeky Novelty

The feeling is a bit eerie. The sound is transferred through the brush tip, into the teeth, and right into the inner ear, so you feel the music. Because volume is related to pressure, you can turn up the volume by applying steady pressure to your teeth. Unfortunately, you can also hear better when not brushing.

The brushes, first released last fall, are being sold nationwide this month in stores or at www.toothtunes.com. They feature 17 artists, including the Black Eyed Peas, Hilary Duff, Kiss and others. There is even one that plays “Y.M.C.A.,” so theoretically you can have the Village People in your head.

The switch is slime-proof, and batteries are included, providing power for up to six months. When they run out, you throw the brush away — and, Hasbro hopes, buy a new tune. Now you can tell your child to “keep brushing until Queen has finished, honey.”
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News from all over - Olympia

Animal lovers in the state of Washington are one step closer to being able to dine out with their dogs. A bill that would allow people to bring their dogs to restaurants passed out of committee Tuesday, but health officials still have some concerns.

The bill would allow leashed dogs to sit with their owners in outdoor seating areas of restaurants, bars and cafes for a three-year trial period. For businesses to participate, cities would first have to pass an ordinance approving the practice.

He said that having dogs in public places like bars and restaurants makes for a more friendly environment. "In my mind, they make it a more human setting, a more natural setting," Jacobsen said. "I just find it more relaxing having them around."

Spencer Fairbanks, a manager at Broadway Grill on Capitol Hill, said his customers often bring their dogs to the restaurant's outdoor seating area and he's never received any complaints about them.

"It's good for our business, because we're in such a densely populated part of the city that people have to get out with their dogs, and they tend to combine errands," he said. "We're very dog-friendly."
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Today in History - 1869

U.S. Postage stamps showing scenes (pony express rider, locomotive, steam ship, Columbus' arrival to the New World, and signing Declaration of Independence) are issued for 1st time. The designs were furnished by the National Bank Note Co. of New York with their bid, upon which contract was entered into on the 12th of December, 1868. Only printed one year due their unpopularity at the time.

So Now You Know

Before 1883, the three-cent U.S. stamp was also used for advertising. The advertisement was located on the back of the stamp for various products.