Month: August 2005

That’s Tim Kowalec firing up Chrysler Group’s one-of-a-kind HEMI-powered grill at an event to announce the top five finalists in the company’s “What Can You HEMI” contest.

The contest involved people sending in concepts for machines that could be powered by a 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine. Five of the best ideas became semi-finalists and Chrysler engineers then built working models of the concept machines.

I don’t really want one, but I like that there IS one.

I also don’t need a HEMI powered Zamboni, but it would be great entertainment at a hockey game.

A HEMI powered snowblower? Now you’re talking.

Wait ’till you see what won!

Remember this picture? Now it’s a puzzle.

(More Pieces).

In ancient times “Giant Rock” was held sacred by the Native peoples of the Joshua Tree, California area. So sacred in fact that only the chief was allowed to go near it. Everyone else had to wait nearly a mile away while the Chief communed with the spirits of the “Rock People” who had prophesied “the day when the Mother would split open and a new era would be revealed.”

Most other traditions have pointed to this time in our history as the awakening of the Divine Feminine, to a world based upon compassion and peace. Now that Giant Rock has split, many people believe that the prophecy has been fulfilled.

George Van Tassel began conducting weekly meditation sessions in 1953 in the rooms underneath Giant Rock which, he claimed, led to UFO contacts and finally to an actual encounter with extra-terrestrials when, in August of that year, a saucer landed from the plant Venus, woke Van Tassel up and invited him onto the ship. There the aliens gave him the technique for rejuvenating living cell tissues. In 1954 he and his family began building a structure they called The Integratron to perform the rejuvenation.

Deuce of Clubs has an interesting perspective of the whole thing.

As the 1970s began, Chase found himself thinking of creating his dream band. The group evolved over six months into the four trumpets, four rhythm instruments and one vocalist arrangement which earned the group a “Best New Artist” grammy nominationin 1971.

The trip to the top was swift. Chase was soon in demand by Johnny Carson, The Smothers Brothers and many of the other hot variety shows on television. His live performances entranced audiences around the U.S. and abroad, and the dynamic excitement of his musical arrangements captivated music educators. His “Get It On” was a staple of halftime performances across the nation.

In 1974, Chase chartered a plane to take him and three band members to a performance in Jackson, MN. The weather was bad with a low ceiling, and the airport in Jackson had little communications equipment. The plane went down, but was not found until the next day. There were no survivors.

I was in high school jazz band when these guys were in their prime. One of the songs we played was “Get It On”. It was major fun to play stuff that we saw on prime time television.

I had all three of their albums.

The First album, Chase, contained the hit “Get It On” but the best song on the album was the first one, “Open Up Wide”.

The Second album, Ennea, had an interesting collection of songs about Greek Mythology.

The Third album, Pure Music, had my favorite – “Weird Song #1”.

The Iowa Stars will begin a five-year affiliation agreement with the National Hockey League�s Dallas Stars this fall as Iowa plays their inaugural season in the AHL.

The Iowa Stars announced today that the first two games of the 2005-06 inaugural season for the Stars will take place as part of �Opening Weekend� on Thursday, October 6 and Saturday, October 8 against the Peoria Rivermen and the Omaha Ak-sar-ben Knights, respectively.

The full season schedule features a total of 10 games (five home, five road) each against the Stars �West Division� foes including: Omaha, Peoria, Chicago, Milwaukee, Houston and San Antonio.

In addition, the Stars will play Cleveland, Grand Rapids and Manitoba a total of four times (two home, two road) and Rochester, Manchester, Toronto and Hamilton a total of two times (one home, one road).

I’m not really a hockey fan yet. The last time I went to a hockey game, I left after the third period.

For the past several months, we’ve received a lot of questions about an email that’s been making the rounds ~ and it goes something like this: “The Red Planet Mars is about to be spectacular! On August 27, Earth will catch up with Mars. The next time Mars may come this close is in 2287….Mars will look as large as the full moon to the naked eye…etc.”

Here are the facts: Earth and Mars are converging for a close encounter this year on October 30th at 0319 Universal Time. Distance: 69 million kilometers. To the unaided eye, Mars will look like a bright red star, a pinprick of light, certainly not as wide as the full Moon.

Disappointed? Don’t be. If Mars did come close enough to rival the Moon, its gravity would alter Earth’s orbit and raise terrible tides.

You might remember another encounter with Mars, about two years ago, on August 27, 2003. That was the closest in recorded history, by a whisker, and millions of people watched as the distance between Mars and Earth shrunk to 56 million km. This October’s encounter, at 69 million km, is similar.

PressDisplay� delivers the world’s leading newspapers to you before they appear on newsstands in their home countries.

You can see the front page of several major newspapers, but it costs to look inside. I wanted to sign up for the free trial subscription, but the Auto-Renew and Cancellation Policy scared me.

PressDisplay Auto-Renew and Cancellation Policy
Subscriptions purchased to PressDisplay Service are auto-renewed at the end of the subscription term. However, you may cancel your subscription at any time. In case of cancellation no refund is granted for the unused portion of the cancelled subscription.

I decided to try it. It was a nervous two weeks. I only read USA TODAY, so I would be charged for just one paper – if it came to that.

At the end of my free subscription, I didn’t cancel. I just waited.
No nasty eMail. No bill. Everything is fine.

I guess I worry too much. Now I go there just to browse the front pages.

The Rhine River begins in the Rheinwaldhorn Glacier of Switzerland and flows north and east approximately 820 miles (1,320 km). It is navigable from the North Sea to Basel, Switzerland. Even though it passes through or borders on Liechtenstein,. Austria, Germany, France, and the Netherlands,. 80 percent of it’s ship carrying waters pass through Germany. The entire distance can not support ocean going vessels, they must end their journey in Cologne, Germany. Cologne is located between Koln and Bonn. From there cargo must go by barges pushed by smaller ships until the Rhine reaches the three point intersection of the borders of France, Germany, and Basel, Switzerland.

Because of the multi countries and languages, the river has three names. They are: Rhein, Germany; Rhine, France; and Rijn, Netherlands (Dutch).

Last year we took a boat trip along the Rhine and took some pics.

We got on the boat at Mainz and went to the Castle Liebenstein, where we stayed overnight. It had a beautiful view of the Rhine Valley.

The castle is the source of one of The Finest Legends of the Rhine.

Who is credited with saving more lives than anyone in history “one billion lives” and has been called one of the 20th century’s ten greatest contributors to humankind?

Need a hint? He’s in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Another one? He’s the winner of the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize.

More? He threw out the first pitch at Fenway Park on June 9, 2004.

For over half a century, Dr. Norman Borlaug has fought to keep poverty and hunger at bay. Known as “The Father of the Green Revolution” Borlaug is best known for his hybrid wheat and modern agricultural techniques, but his success is largely related to his work as an educator and policy maker. Dr. Borlaug grew up on a farm near Cresco, Iowa, never forgetting the lessons of the farm, or the strong influence his grandfather had on his education.

Surrounded by the rich soil and the green of Iowa, it’s hard to imagine, or understand, how anyone could need more food. Yet world hunger is not abstract, or untamable: fifteen years ago, 30,000 people were dying from hunger each day; twenty years ago, it was 40,000 people. Advances in the war against hunger are being made.

“I personally cannot live comfortably in the midst of abject hunger and poverty and human misery, if I have the possibility of doing something about improving the lives of these many young children.” -Norman Borlaug

“We cannot choose between feeding malnourished children and saving endangered wild species. Without higher yields, peasant farmers will destroy the wild lands and species to keep their children from starving. Sustainably higher yields of crops and trees are the only visible way to save both.” -Norman Borlaug

If people want to believe that the organic food has better nutritive value, it’s up to them to make that foolish decision. But there’s absolutely no research that shows that organic foods provide better nutrition. As far as plants are concerned, they can’t tell whether that nitrate ion comes from artificial chemicals, or from decomposed organic matter. If some consumers believe that it’s better from the point of view of their health to have organic food, God bless them. Let them buy it. Let them pay a bit more. It’s a free society. But don’t tell the world that we can feed the present population without chemical fertilizer. That’s when this misinformation becomes destructive. -Norman Borlaug

The Foundation recognizes Dr. Borlaug’s contributions to the world with a primary goal of reaching American K-12 schools, colleges and communities informing them of his work and values. Through the Borlaug Residency Program, students and communities are encouraged to serve humankind with the same convictions and tenacity that has served Dr. Borlaug throughout his life.

True/False Quiz