Saturday, December 29, 2007

PhotoHunt # 90: Messy

This image was taken at Providence Metropark in Grand Rapids, Ohio three days ago. I find it disturbing that this trash is allowed to accumulate and nothing is done about it. I suspect the park officials hope that the river floods and takes this messy sight with it. It is absolutely amazing what the river will wash up.

Monday, December 24, 2007

Christmas Eve Walk.......!

Bell Tower St. Andrews Presbyterian College
I walked St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg N.C. Christmas eve while home celebrating the holidays with my family.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

Blewett Falls Dam...

Blewett Falls DamI have fished at this dam since my youth and the memories I've made here are immeasurable. Blewett Falls Lake may be the largest undeveloped land-locked lake on the east coast and is the storage reservoir for the Blewett Falls Hydroelectric Development (FERC Project No. 2206). The Blewett Falls dam is located at approximately mile 195 on the Yadkin-Pee Dee River in Anson and Richmond counties in central North Carolina. The dam has a maximum height of about 50feet above the river bed.
The Blewett Falls development began operation in 1912 and is owned and operated by Progress Energy. The surface area of Blewett Falls Lake covers about 2,560 acres. At full pool elevation Blewett Falls Lake contains approximately 34 linear miles of shoreline. Total generating capacity of the hydroelectric plant is 22 MW.

Natures Beauty: Daylily

DaylilyI found this beautiful daylily walking the grounds of St. Andrews Presbyterian College located in Laurinburg NC on Dec 23, 2007. The flowers of most species open at sunrise and wither at sunset, possibly replaced by another one on the same stem the next day. Daylilies varieties number in the thousands.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Thursday Lunch...Roche de Boeuf...

Roche de BoeufThe rock was used by Native Americans as a place to hold their councils, and they met there before the battle with Anthony Wayne in 1794. The General built Fort Deposit on the nearby bluff of the river now a park in Waterville Ohio. The bridge was completed in 1908 and was considered an engineering marvel, and there was a lot of opposition to its partial destruction of the legendary rock (even then some people cared). An electric trolley ran across it connecting Toledo to points south for the next 30 years.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

The Cost of Freedom...

American FlagAs of today 3895 American Solders have died in combat operations in Iraq since the beginning of hostilities. The human sacrifice for this flag is very high. I pray its not in vain. God Bless This Flag.

B2B Search Engine...

There is a new business global search engine that provides its users quick and free access to company profiles, contact information, and descriptions of products and services to over 45 million companies located in 75 countries called masterseek. With masterseek you can search either directly, by typing specific name of a company, or through categories. There exists a possibility to submit your own company profile and thus advertise your products or services. Masterseek’s website is loaded with useful inside business information and very easy to use and navigate. There is also an option to choose between 20 languages so language is not a barrier. Masterseek is your online business connection and a useful tool in the global market place.

Sunday, December 16, 2007

2007 Winter Storm in NW Ohio....

Snow covered forest in Oak Openings Metropark Swanton OhioThis winter storm barreled thought NW Ohio dumping 7 inches of snow in our area over a 18 hour period Saturday night into Sunday Morning. Sunday afternoon I managed to get into Oak Openings Metropark and walked this snow covered forest 2.5 mile trail. The crunch of snow under my feet along with the swirling winds rattling the upper branches of the trees made my adventure wonderful.

Saturday, December 15, 2007

PhotoHunt #88: Tiny

These tiny creatures are hands down the the toughest creatures in nature. This Ant colony was photograph in the local Metropark near Swanton Ohio and is my entry into this weeks PhotoHunt.

Friday, December 14, 2007

Early Archaic - 7,000 B.C. Bifurcate Point

St. Albans side notched point found in NW OhioThis is one of the oldest documented bifurcates found in the eastern United States. It was excavated at the 6,880 B.C. levels at the St. Albans site in West Virginia where this type was named the St. Albans side notched point. This Archaic point was found in Providence Township, Lucas County NW Ohio Nov 28, 2007 by my friend Paul who used a 1908 silver dime he found as a reference.

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Thursday Lunch...

Tree floating down the Maumee River 2007I was looking for something unusual to photograph and the river did not disappoint. Rain has melted the ice storm we experience last week and the river is starting to rise and flow very fast. I saw this tree floating swiftly by and was past me before I could get the camera turned on. I did however manage to get this photograph showing a small piece of the strength of Mother Nature.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Ice Storm 2007.....

Ice covering trees in Oak Openings MetroparkThe first ice storm to hit the NW Ohio area in several years. It was not severe but was very slippery. I managed to get into Oak Openings Metropark and take this photograph.

Saturday, December 8, 2007

PhotoHunt #87: Long

The McKinley National Memorial summer 2007The McKinley National Memorial, a landmark in Canton, Ohio, United States is the final resting place for the 25th President of the United States William McKinley and his wife Ida Saxton McKinley and visiting the McKinley Memorial this summer I was impressed with the long manicured lawns and the long row of steps leading up to the tomb. Simply Stunning...!

Friday, December 7, 2007

Friday Lunch.....

Squirrel burying nutFor lunch I tried to find something special to photograph hoping to share a special moment with a friend. At the time I wasn't disappointed in my effort but I was in the results. However upon my return to the office and downloading the pictures I did manage to take I found one I wish to share.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

First Winter Snow....

Maumee River first winter snow of 2007
The first winter snow of 2007 and it was 2.5 inches. This picture of the Maumee River was taken at SideCut Park in Maumee, OH.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Anne Frank's tree given reprieve...

150 year old Anne Frank's Tree in winterThe chestnut tree that comforted Anne Frank while she hid from the Nazis during World War II was to be cut down Nov. 21 because it is too diseased to be saved was saved Tuesday by a Dutch judge who disagreed with Amsterdam officials about its safety and ordered the city and preservationists to negotiate to try and find a compromise that would save the tree.

Monday, December 3, 2007

Thanksgiving Day Artifacts...

Artifacts found in Lucas Co. Ohio on Thanksgiving Day 2007On Thanksgiving Day my friend Paul invited me to walk two fields 100 acres each. This was our finding for that day. I found the two pieces on the left, the tip of a stone ax, and a point missing its tip. Paul found the killer Adena point (4,000 years old), a 1909 dime, a piece of slate (look closely see the drilled hole and tally marks) and a hide or bone scrapper, Paul was on a roll.

Monday at lunch....

I went to the Fallen Timbers Battlefield monument and took this picture on a very cold winter day. The results of this battle gave the young expanding country room to grow. We acquired Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Sunday, December 2, 2007

New room on the space station...

Space Station after the Harmony installI read that on November 21 two spacewalking astronauts wired up the International Space Station's newest room and kept the next shuttle visit on track for early December. Commander Peggy Whitson and Daniel Tani spent hours connecting power and heater cables and fluid lines between the station and the Harmony compartment that was delivered by the shuttle in October. NASA cannot launch another shuttle until the bus-size harmony is hooked up. Atlantis is set to lift off Dec. 6 with a European lab that will dock to Harmony.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Virginia tribes....offer tributes

The governor for the Commonwealth of Virginia, Timothy Kaine, was given buck deer and other gifts by the Mattaponi and Pamunkey tribes at an annual ceremony, which honors the treaties of 1646 and 1677. The gifts are given to the governor every year on the day before Thanksgiving in lieu of taxes on the lands held by the tribes. Both the Mattaponi, one of the oldest reservations in America, and the Pamunkey tribes still live on state reservations.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Friday Lunch

8 point buck in local park


During lunch I went to the park and walked the trails and ran upon this beautiful creature. I counted 8 points! He stood there until I left which was perhaps 3 minutes. He is not frighten of people. I don't think that is a good idea on his part.

The cost of Freedom....


I read in the paper today that 3881 American Solders have died in combat operations in Iraq since the beginning of hostilities. The human sacrifice for this flag is very high. I pray its not in vain. God Bless This Flag.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Show me the money...

Well it looks like the United States Mint has changed yet another bill, this time it's the $5 Bill. The United States Mint added, moved and deleted some features of the $5 Bill to make it harder to counterfeit. What they added was the color "purple" and moved the security strip from one location to another. What they removed was the ever popular oval frame that surrounded the President Lincoln and the Lincoln Memorial. I was a bit shocked but not surprised to find out that the 5 dollar bills were bleached and then were reprinted as fake 100 dollar bills. Apparently the features of the $5 and $100 were similar so the counterfeiters didn't have much trouble swapping the two. Well let's see how long it will be until the next face lift.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The ultimate weight loss..

Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding which is also known as LAGB or the LAP BAND System procedure is the ultimate weight loss procedure for persons having difficulty losing or keeping excessive weight off. I know someone who had lap-band surgery and the results are remarkable. She lost a very large amount of weight, several health issues have gone away and her confidence is way up. All good things that have happened to her since her surgery. Don't hesitate let the inner you shine get the help you need to keep that weight off and you happy.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Protect Yourself on Cyber Monday...

Cyber Monday the Monday after Thanksgiving, is expected to ring up more than $600 million in sales and attract cybercrooks so here are a few safety tips for us online shoppers:
> Switch your web brouser to Firefox, Safari, or anything besides Microsoft's popular Internet Exployer, which is often in the cross hairs of computer viruses, spyware and adware. You can enhance browser security with add-ons including eBay Toolbar, Google toolbar and NoScript, a Firefox extention. They all help identify phyishing websites.
> Do not click on links in e-mail. E-mail attachments are a breeding ground for viruses. Use unguessable passwords on your Web mail accounts.
> Use a single credit card for online purchases. Limit the damage, in the event someone steals your credit card numbers.
Have fun shopping online just use some simple security measures to keep cybercrooks at bay.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Presidental Families: Dolly Madison coin unveiled...

Dolly Madison commemorative bronze coinOn Nov 19th Laura Bush paid tribute to
one of America's most beloved first ladies
Dolly Madison at the unveiling of a coin in Madison's honor. Madison's coin is the fourth in the first ladies coins, the first coin series to honor only women. The series movies chronologically: already in coins are Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and Lady Liberty who appears in lieu of a first lady for Thomas Jefferson, who was not married at the time of his presidency.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Meteorite auction lands with a thud…..

Willamette meteoriteI read that the owners of two of the world’s most famous chunks of meteorites are confident they’ll be able to sell them even though the space rocks failed to attract buyers at an auction in late October. A 30 pound chunk of the Willamette meteorite, which was found in Oregon in 1902 was offered by Bonhams auction house in New York at an estimated value of $1.3 million but was withdrawn from sale after bidding ended at $300,000. The 1,410 pound Brenham Main Mass meteorite, which was dug from a Kansas farm field in 2005, was withdrawn after it drew a top bid of $200,000 well short of the pre-sale estimated of $700,00. The sellers said they have other potential purchasers in mind.

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Final Thoughts.....




Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year: to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.

-Edward Sandford Martin

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

MRAP Shipments to Iraq Delayed, Congress Reports

I read today that the Pentagon $23 billion program to rush thousands of armoured vehicles to Iraq is bogged down by production delays and the demands of the military services, members of Congress said. At a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, lawmakers said a Navy Warfare Center in Charleston S.C. being used to install radio jammers and communication systems on the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) is not organized to do the work. This is an outrage.....! With all the skilled labor that Ford, GM, and Chrysler has layed off there should be no shortage of anything our troops need outragous.....!

Conservationists Fight to Save Anne Frank Tree...

The chestnut tree that comforted Anne Frank while the teenager and her family hid from the Nazis and that she mentioned warmly in her world famous diary is still strong and should not be cut down, conservationists say. The 150 year old tree behind the Amsterdam warehouse annex where the Frank family hid for two years, until they were discovered and sent to Nazi concentration camps in 1944, is schedule to be cut down Nov 21. The city council decided that the tree is so deceased and damaged that it could fall over at any time. Conservationists went to court to argue that the decision was hasty and that the tree stands as a monument to the memory of Frank, who died in a concentration camp at age 15. A Dutch court is schedule to hear arguments on the dispute today.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Patrich Henry Hughes

Today I meet Patrick Henry Hughes the ESPN Award Recipient of the Louisville Marching Band with his father Partrick John Hughes at CedarCreek Church, Perrysburg Campus. Patrick is a remarkable young man who was born without eyes and without the ability to fully straighten his arms and legs, making him unable to walk. Despite these circumstances Patrick has overcome these physical issues to excel as a musician and student. Patrick plays the piano, the trumpet and sings. He is a remarkable young man and it was my honor to shake his hand and offer encouragement to him and his dad.

Gov. Wallace shooter gains freedom today....

The man who shot Alabama Gov. George Wallace during a presidential campaign stop in 1972 was released Nov 9, 2007 from a Maryland prison. Authur Bremer shot Gov. Wallace on Laurel, Md. Wallace who was paralyzed and abandoned his bid for the presidency, died in 1998, twenty five years after the assassin attempt. Mr. Bremer was 21 at the time and testified that his motive was to become a celebrity. He was sentenced to 53 years and served 35. Mr. Brenner appears to be the first and only assassin to become a free man although I fear more assassins like Sirhan Sirhan, Mr. Hinckley, Mark David Chapman, Lynette Fromme, Sara Jane Moore will be released because of their age and the perceived notion that these people are harmless.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

PhotoHunt # 84: I Love___>>

I love pictures of landscapes especially mountains and streams. This was taken in West Virginia during my summer vacation and is this weeks entry for PhotoHunt.

Intel Chips to Have More Transistors....

Intel rolled out its newest generation of processors on Tuesday Nov 13th, showcasing a sophisticated new process that crams up to 40% more transistors onto the company's chips. The most complex of the chips have 820 million transistors, compared with 582 million on chips using the current standard technology. Its difficult for me to perceive the smallness to the transistors and yet they keep getting smaller...awesome!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Miami and Erie Canal: Maumee Side Cut Lock #6

My friend Greg and I share a love of history and one day during lunch he asked me if I wanted to see a lock that one was part of the Miami and Erie Canal. The rest is history.....Today we found the last of the 6 locks that made up the Maumee Side Cut Canal. I found it strange that even though it is surrounded by houses and a small park, if you weren't looking for it you wouldn't find it, and if you did find it, you wouldn't know what it is unless you know your history.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Falls Splendor ln NW Ohio....

Today at lunch I came upon this beautiful Maple Tree in full glory.....!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

College the money drain.

Three years ago I took an advanced Visual Basic programming course at The University of Toledo and was very surprised at what it cost to take one 4 hour class. Today I read that college costs have risen 48% faster than the consumer price index since 1983. According to Forbes the federal government is at least partly to blame, because of federal tax credits, grants, and deductions and government subsidized loans have soared 151% over the past 10 years after inflation to $94 billion. Forbes reports that success on that front may owe something to their investment on lobbying, where they've outspent the real estate and oil and gas industries over the last 10 years. My wallet tells me that the coat can't keep going up, it has to slow but then again I will pay almost any price for my childern to graduate college.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Calling all Veterans....

To all veterans of the United States Military if you have any medical issues that are not being addressed I would encourage to visit the following link: Veterans Affairs This link will help you in starting to understand the procedures required to help you to receive earned VA medical care. The most important issue to remember is to call or write your local VA Rep. and request parer work to process a medical claim. All major cities in the U.S. have VA clinics where veterans can go for immediate care for colds and flu that sort of thing. In Toledo Ohio the address is Toledo VA Outpatient Clinic 3333 Glendale Ave. phone number 419-259-2000. I encourage all veterans to take care of their bodies and seek preventive medical attention such as a check up, blood pressure, and all other issues.

Earn Money Blogging

I'm always excited when it comes to making money the easy way! The Easy way you say? That's right, setting at home and getting paid to blog about products and services. Some of the products and services I have heard about, others are new but bloggerwave gives me the opportunity to review and express an opinion. What's more I get paid to do it! Pinch me! I've died and went to heaven.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Photo Hunt # 83 Flexible

Life sometimes requires one to be flexible like water flowing over, under, around obstacles and never giving up.

Marine Corps... Happy 247th Birthday....

Originally organized as the Continental Marines on 10 November 1775 as naval infantry, the Marine Corps has evolved in its mission with changing military doctrine and American foreign policy. The Marine Corps has served in every American armed conflict including the Revolutionary War. It attained prominence in the 20th century when its theories and practice of amphibious warfare proved prescient and ultimately formed the cornerstone of the Pacific campaign of World War II. By the mid 20th century, the Marine Corps had become the dominant theorist of amphibious warfare. Its ability to rapidly respond to regional crises has made it, and continues to make it, an important body in the implementation and execution of American foreign policy. Semper Fi!

Friday, November 9, 2007

Vietman Memorial turns 25.....

It takes 65 hours to recite aloud the names of the more than 58,000 names of the fallen inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.
A reading of those names by 2,000 volunteers will highlight the 25th anniversary to the black-granite wall beginning Wednesday from 4 p.m. to midnight, and again for 19 hours a day Thursday through Saturday. General Colin Powell is scheduled to speak at the main event on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
For the first time, organizers will stage a poetry and music tribute on the East Knoll near the wall, performed by people who’ve been inspired by the wall. I have been to the wall 2 times and both have been very emotional and is a very moving memorial to veterans of the Vietman War including my father First Sergeant John B. Leach who did 4 Tours of Duty in defense of this great country.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

In Flanders Field

In Flanders Fields, 1915

In Flounders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flounders fields

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, thought poppies grow
In Flounders fields.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae,
Canadian Expeditionary Force

Major John McCrae...

McCrae's "In Flanders Fields" remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915.
Although he had been a doctor for years and had served in the South African War, it was impossible to get used to the suffering, the screams, and the blood here, and Major John McCrae had seen and heard enough in his dressing station to last him a lifetime.

As a surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Major McCrae, who had joined the McGill faculty in 1900 after graduating from the University of Toronto, had spent seventeen days treating injured men -- Canadians, British, Indians, French, and Germans -- in the Ypres salient.

It had been an ordeal that he had hardly thought possible. McCrae later wrote of it:

"I wish I could embody on paper some of the varied sensations of that seventeen days... Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would have folded our hands and said it could not have been done."

One death particularly affected McCrae. A young friend and former student, Lieut. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, had been killed by a shell burst on 2 May 1915. Lieutenant Helmer was buried later that day in the little cemetery outside McCrae's dressing station, and McCrae had performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain. The next day, sitting on the back of an ambulance parked near the dressing station beside the Canal de l'Yser, just a few hundred yards north of Ypres, McCrae vented his anguish by composing a poem. The major was no stranger to writing, having authored several medical texts besides dabbling in poetry.

In the nearby cemetery, McCrae could see the wild poppies that sprang up in the ditches in that part of Europe, and he spent twenty minutes of precious rest time scribbling fifteen lines of verse in a notebook. A young soldier watched him write it. Cyril Allinson, a twenty-two year old sergeant-major, was delivering mail that day when he spotted McCrae. The major looked up as Allinson approached, then went on writing while the sergeant-major stood there quietly. "His face was very tired but calm as we wrote," Allinson recalled. "He looked around from time to time, his eyes straying to Helmer's grave."

When McCrae finished five minutes later, he took his mail from Allinson and, without saying a word, handed his pad to the young NCO. Allinson was moved by what he read:
"The poem was exactly an exact description of the scene in front of us both. He used the word blow in that line because the poppies actually were being blown that morning by a gentle east wind. It never occurred to me at that time that it would ever be published. It seemed to me just an exact description of the scene."

In fact, it was very nearly not published. Dissatisfied with it, McCrae tossed the poem away, but a fellow officer retrieved it and sent it to newspapers in England. The Spectator, in London, rejected it, but Punch published it on 8 December 1915.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Government Appeals Patriot Act Ruling...

I read today that the federal government appealed a ruling that the government shouldn't be able to get personal phone, e-mail and financial records without a judge's approval. The USA Patriot Act prevents internet providers from telling customeers whether the government has demanded private information about them. The law also lets the government impose gag orders that prevent the recipients of national security letters from acknowledging the probes. Federal Judge Victor Marrero in September rejected an argument that the statute was a necessary anti-terror tool. He stayed his ruling pending appeal.

Monday, November 5, 2007

The War to End All Wars......

The world had seen nothing like it, and it was the hope of the survivors that their war was the "war to end all wars". This hope was dashed even before the Armistice, because the Great War-as its participants called it, in awed honour of its bloody magnitude-had let roll events which ripple to this day. Out of the four-year-conflict came the Russian Revolution, the rise of Hitler, the Second World War, the decline of Britain, the supremacy of America and the instability of the Middle East (even the 2003 Gulf War can be tracked back to the mandate over Iraq given to Britain at the 1919 Peace Conference). World War I the Forgotten War! Pictured above is the largest American World War I Cemetery at Romagne sous Montfaucon in north east France where over 14000 soldiers are laid to rest.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

World War I... The Forgotton War...

I have just finished reading “The Mammoth Book of Eyewitness World War I” with over 180 first-hand accounts of the “war to end all wars”. I didn’t realize the magnitude of the war because it’s been nearly 90 years since it was fought and almost all of the participants are deceased. Has it become the Forgotten War? Despite the haunting images of Flanders’ trenches with “solders bent double like sacks”, the fighting was not confined to a corner of northwest Europe, but took in eastern and southern Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and even China and Japan. Fifty million men from thirty nations donned uniforms. When the last bullet sounded on 11 November 1918, nine million of the combatants lay dead, alongside five million citizens. It has become the Forgotten War.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

PhotoHunt# 82 Classic


Ran across this gem a 1930 Ford Model T. What a beautiful car!

Friday, November 2, 2007

Honoring Veterans is The American Way...

Our TV screens are flooded with pictures of returning troops who have fulfilled a tour of duty in Iraq, Afghanistan, or other troubled spots in the world where American military has defended our freedom and that of other nations.
We see a uniformed grandmother hugging children and grandchildren, a father scooping his son into his arms, a sister racing toward her brother, and children embracing parents. These are a few of the veterans we honor November 11.

Veterans Day recognizes all who served with honor in the military, be they living or dead. But the day is intended to especially thank our living veterans whether they served in peacetime or in war. The date November 11 was chosen because toward the end of World War I an armistice between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Some say that Veterans Day has lost its importance as surviving troops of World War II have dwindled. But with so many or our men and women fighting to preserve our precious freedom, it is time to restore Veterans Day to its former glory. The Department of Veterans Affairs distributes a poster to schools, state governments, and veteran’s organizations. Individual poster requests are honored until the supply runs out. Anyone desiring a poster can check out the Veterans Day poster Gallery and select the poster they would like to download.

If you know a veteran Please, Please Thank them for giving and making that sacrifice to ensure the freedom and prosperity of this The United States of America.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

65th Anniversary of “Casablanca”..

The movie “Casablanca” was released 65 years ago, in November 1942. It won Academy Awards the following year for best picture, director, and screenplay and was named the best screenplay of all time in 2006 by the Writers Guild of America. The movie centers around a love triangle during World War II between Humphrey Bogart, As Rick; Ingrid Bergman, as Lisa; and Paul Henries, as freedom fighter Victor Lasso.
One of my all time favorite films and here are some bits of trivia about this classic.
* No one in the film knew whether Ilsa would choose Rick or Laszlo until the scene was filmed, including Ingrid Bergman.
* The piano player Sam was played by Dooley Wilson, who was a drummer, not a pianist, in real life. Someone else played the piano off screen for his scenes.
* Humphry Bogart never said, “Play it again, Sam.” Instead, his line was simply, “Play it!” He did, however, really say, “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid,” an equally enduring movie quote.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Rare Full-Body Fossil Imprints..



A rock that sat untouched in a Pennsylvania museum's fossil collection for years has rare full-body imprints of three ancient amphibians. Researchers found the imprints in sandstone rock collected in eastern Pennsylvania decades ago and stored in a museum in Reading. The body impressions of the salamander-like creature are estimated to be 330 million years old, 100 million years before the first dinosaurs appeared. Details of the find were presented Tuesday in Denver at a meeting of the Geological Society of America.

Sunday, October 28, 2007

NorthWest Ohio Indian Artifacts....!

This hardstone celt and flint point were found roughtly 15 feet apart. in western Lucas County October 18, 2007 by my friend Paul Cousino of Grand Rapids, Ohio. Gems as these can be found if one is willing to put in the effort and have patience.

Friday, October 26, 2007

New York's City Hybrid Cabs...

In June 2007 I learned that New York's Mayor Bloomberg was trying to get over 1200 cabs to convert to Hybrid. Today I read that 6 Ford Escape Hybrid taxies have offically entered operations. According to the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, each New York taxi averages nearly 100,000 miles of driving annually and the fuel savings for drivers and operators could reach the thousands of dollars every year. I have visited the city in the past and the first thing that I notice is the cabs running around that can use a little tune up or a possible replacement. I wish the mayor the best on this endeavor, and I suspect that the cab companies will continue to introduce Hybrid cars because of the bottom line....!

Monday, October 22, 2007

Fall Sunset NW Ohio October 2007....

I took this picture of the sun setting over a corn field. It was cloudy and the temperature was warn.