SheiKra!

My family and I went to Busch Gardens today. We've been many times, but for one reason or another hadn't ridden SheiKra, the newest ride.

In case you're not familiar with the park, SheiKra is a roller coaster that carries riders up 200 feet at 45 degrees, then hurtles them 70 mph back toward the ground at a 90-degree angle. It is the first coaster of its kind in the Americas and only the third in the world.

SheiKra is the first dive coaster to incorporate an Immelmann loop, a water feature, and a second 90-degree 138-foot drop through an underground tunnel. SheiKra also includes a 360-degree climbing carousel. 3,188 feet of steel track offers a total ride time of just over three minutes.

This is what it felt like...



It was soooo much fun.

Say What?

Out of Breitbart.com comes this infuriating story about an anything-for-a-buck British music producer, Adam Kidron, who came up with a Spanish-language version of the U.S. national anthem.

I have a news flash for Mr. Kidron and all the illegal immigrants out there:

Assimilate or shut up!

The "Star Spangled Banner" should be sung in English. Period. Anything else is insulting and will surely cause a backlash among Americans across the nation.

Next Time, DiGiorno

From the Smoking Gun website comes this story about a Domino's delivery man in Pennsylvania who used a 1983 Buick stationwagon to transport corpses to funeral parlors when he wasn't using the vehicle to deliver pizzas.

Get this: a police check with local health officials determined that the use of the car for cadavers and pizzas did not violate county ordinances, but driving with a suspended license and operating a vehicle without an inspection certificate got the driver $400 in fines.

They're doing wonders with frozen pizzas nowadays... DiGiorno anyone?

Cat Blog Friday

For today's Cat Blog Friday...

a cat with an improbable problem.

Happy Friday!

Lego Bridge

This Lego ST:TNG Enterprise-D Bridge was designed by Jonathan Markiewitz. Other views of the bridge and lots of other clever science fiction creations can be found at www.mocpages.com .

The detail is amazing.

Dressed Dogs

It's becoming common to see dogs dressed-up in elaborate outfits, but this story out of Pittsburgh is very strange indeed. Police found a dead dog dressed in blue jeans, a T-shirt, socks, tennis shoes and a baseball cap on the rear porch of a home on Monday in the Stanton Heights neighborhood.

The dog, apparently a boxer-pit bull mixed breed that neighbors said was named Pimpin', was dressed after it had been killed.

What a world, huh?

Snow Job

Conservative pundit Tony Snow has been appointed the new White House press secretary.

I can't say I'm sad to see Scott McClellan go. He's probably a nice man, but his "deer-in-the-headlights" look and inability to think fast made him an ineffective press secretary.

I wish Tony all the best.

A Vampire Musical?

Morose. Joyless. Glum. Wearisome. I could've told them this was a dumb idea.

Good book. Bad idea for a musical.

Chernobyl 2006

General view of the 'sarcophagus' covering the damaged fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant today, on the 20th anniversary of the largest nuclear accident the world has seen.

Filatova Elena Vladimirovna, a.k.a Gamma Girl, who takes long motorcycle rides in the Chernobyl dead zone makes some interesting points about "Chernie" .

Periodic Curtain Of Elements

This shower curtain made my geeky heart happy when I saw it in a catalog. The price tag of $34.50 plus shipping & handling made me reconsider.

I think I'll stick to my cat-themed shower curtain for a while longer...

Chimps Revolt

From Breitbart.com comes this article about "scores of chimpanzees at a popular Sierra Leone Tacugama Chimp Sanctuary mauling to death a local driver and seriously wounded two Americans after they broke out of their enclosure", a conservationist told AFP.

It could not be immediately established how the primates managed to escape from their iron-bar cages, but there were local reports that they were helped by a tall chimp who called himself Caesar.

Such Generosity

Iranian women will be allowed to attend soccer matches for first time since the country's 1979 Islamic revolution, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a decree posted on his Web site Monday.

The article goes on to say, "Women would sit in separate sections of the stand, away from the usually raucous male fans."

I guess even ruthless, bloodthirsty lunatics have a good side.

Sheesh.

Suspicious Ties

Pulitzer Prize winning Dana Priest is married to William Goodfellow. William Goodfellow is the Executive Director of the the Center for International Policy (CIP). Go to America's Red Army to see how the CIP is co-mingling with the ultra-liberal, anti-war organization, Win Without War, which in turn has ties to MoveOn.org.

If this doesn't make you ask questions about media bias of the extreme liberal kind, then I don't know what will.

[The BLOG note: credit to Lucianne.com and Sweetness-light.com for a heads up on this article.]

Great American Clean-Up

Litter bugs me! Does it bug you? If so, participate in the next Great American Clean-Up. It's easy to volunteer. You pick a location in your area and you pick up trash on the designated day. Easy.

My daughters and I picked up bags and bags of trash all morning. We feel like we've done something good for the environment and we got these nice t-shirts. How good is that?

Now I'm ready to relax.

Cat Blog Friday

Ever get the feeling that you're being watched?

For this Cat Blog Friday...

a cat eyes a solitary goldfish.

Happy Friday!

Dog Meets Pipe

You've got to see this video. I have a German shepherd, and knowing the size of my dog's head, I find this story almost incredible. How does this dog get it's big triangular-shaped head into this relatively tiny pipe?

How?

H5N1 Killer

From The Daily Record comes this good news about the bird flu

No-Germs, a simple hand spray, was more tha 99.8 per cent efficient in killing H5N1, the virus that causes bird flu.

The discovery has been heralded as a "major breakthrough" - particularly if the virus ever mutates into a human form.

666

Some evil toilet humor for The BLOG's 666th post.

Boycott

Go here to read about who's behind the recent immigrant protests and upcoming boycott

The Act Now to Stop War & End Racism (ANSWER) coalition. ANSWER's steering committee includes:
the Free Palestine Alliance,
the Partnership for Civil Justice,
the Nicaragua Network,
the Korea Truth Commission,
the Muslim Student Association,
the Mexico Solidarity Network,
and the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

ANSWER is not the answer.

Superannuated Fruitcake

No, I'm not talking about George Soros. This is about a Wisconsin man who discovered a fruitcake that had been packed away in his mother's attic for 44 years. The fruitcake, which was still in its original tin and wrapped in paper, hadn't changed at all.

Does anybody really eat fruitcake? I've heard that there are really only about 5 fruitcakes in the whole world and people just keep re-gifting them.

Saddam's Smile

In the May/June issue of American Handgunner there is a column called The Insider by Roy Huntington and it reads as follows:

"As a simple, yet self-explanatory reminder to those mindless, hash-for-brains, hand-wringing, finger-pointing, in denial, "Why can't we all just get along" whiners -- and most especially to all those unforgivable, selfish mouth-breathing sheeple who insist on calling our troops "baby killers" and worse -- I give you this photo. Lest we forget what this fight is all about, I present the criminal, the thug, the mass-murderer, plunderer -- the terrorist -- Saddam Hussein. Note the broad smile, the cigar and the airplanes crashing into the World Trade Towers next to him. Note the American soldier standing, holding up the picture. He's not smiling. I appreciate the reader who took the time send this so we could all be reminded.

We at FMG (publishers) support our troops and hope you do too. Regardless of your personal feelings about this war on terrorism and our fight to give a country back its freedom, please think hard before you launch your next tirade against our young men and women who are overseas right now. Please. They, at least, deserve our across-the-board support".

Well said, Mr. Huntington. I hope you don't mind my passing it along.

[The BLOG note: Credit goes to Jeff/Slash for bring it to my attention]

Porcine Olympics

A piglet plays svinball (pigball) competition at the 3rd Pig Olymic Games in Moscow. Pigs from 7 countries compete in svinball, swimming, and running.

This gave me an idea for one possible solution for the Florida town of Boca Grande that has an infestation of 12,000 black, spiny-tailed, non-native iguanas (about 10 per resident)

... Iguana Olympics.

Go Brit!

Fox News anchor Brit Hume exposed the duplicity of former Clinton CENTCOM commander, Anthony Zinni on last night's Special Report.

Zinni now says that in the lead up to the Iraq war, "There was no solid proof, that I ever saw, that Saddam had WMD."

But Brit, doing what a journalist is supposed to do, dug up this little Zinni Zinger which shows that in early 2000, Zinni told Congress "Iraq remains the most significant near-term threat to U.S. interests in the Arabian Gulf region," adding, "Iraq probably is continuing clandestine nuclear research, [and] retains stocks of chemical and biological munitions ... Even if Baghdad reversed its course and surrendered all WMD capabilities, it retains scientific, technical, and industrial infrastructure to replace agents and munitions within weeks or months."

Either the General lied in 2000 or he is lying now. I guess once a dishonest Clinton apologist, always a dishonest Clinton apologist.

Thank goodness there are still some competent journalists out there.

You go, Brit!

Bush Was Right!

Today's column by John Leo

It Turns Out Bush Was Right About Iraq's Quest For Uranium
pretty much says it all.

Read it and weep, oh misguided denizens of the left.

BUSH WAS RIGHT!

Easter Humor

[The BLOG note: another goody via my sister and her frequent emails to me.]

Cat Blog Friday

For this Cat Blog Friday...

...it's the Easter Kitty.

Zero Time

The BLOG posts will be light for a bit. It's spring break time and the kids are underfoot. Heaven help me

Star Trek Karaoke

See Spock Rap.

Rap. Rap. Rap.




[The Blog note: video credit goes to youtube.com ]

Flag Etiquette

Didn't these protesters get the American flag etiquette memo?

According to the USA flag site, the flag is to be flown upside down only as a distress signal.

Never Forget Why We Fight

From the New York Sun comes this article by Alicia Colon entitled High Time For A 9/11 Wake Up Call that succinctly makes the case that it isn't too soon to see images of September 11th, such as the trailer for the "United 93" movie.

It would be helpful if some Americans (and you know who you are) would not only never forget why we fight, but just try to remember why we do.

Cat Blog Friday

For this Cat Blog Friday, we put stuff on Pepper... an aluminum hat.

Ummm, don't ask why we have an aluminum hat, much less why we chose to put it on our cat.

Turns out lots of people like to put stuff on their cats. There's even a website called stuffonmycat.com .

[The BLOG note: credit to southernconservative.com for the cat website.]

A Toast To 47

For fans of 47, what better day to celebrate than 4/7?

I propose we raise a virtual toast from a bottle of HRM Rex-Goliath Giant 47 Pound Rooster Central Coast "Free Range" Merlot. As the story goes, HRM (His Royal Magesty) Rex Goliath was a 47 lb. bird, billed as the "World's Largest Rooster", and people came to see him from far and wide. The label replicates the one of a kind, vintage artwork from the circus banner that hung above Rex's roost.

Happy 47 Day!

And Happy Birthday Sar!

Identity Crisis

Which Polyhedral are you?

I think these Internet quizzes are silly, but this one intrigued me for obvious reasons...now I'm all confused.

If you want to take it, go here

Hall Of Shame

On opening day of the baseball season at a sold-out Petco Park in San Francisco, fans made clear their views on allegations of the outfielder Barry Bonds' illegal steroid use when a syringe was tossed onto the field.

Could this dog be implicated in the
illegal steroid use scandal ?

Say it ain't so, Barry.

Teacher Wedgie

Atomic wedgie? Nope, but a teacher giving a student a wedgie is bad enough without it being one of the atomic variety.

From WNYT in Albany comes this story about a male 41-year-old charter school teacher giving a 10-year-old male student a wedgie.

Another example of life imitating an episode of Seinfeld.

Number Alignment

It's all over the news, so probably you already know, but at two minutes and three seconds after 1 A.M. tomorrow it will be...

01:02:03 on 04/05/06.

If you miss the repeat at 1 P.M., you'll have to wait 100 years for the next one.

Racism Card

It's been a bad week for Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga.. First, possible assault charges for tangling with a U.S. Capital police officer. Go here to read how she is claiming racism and racial profiling as an excuse.

And now she admits that she broke government rules by spending money to fly a celebrity to Atlanta.

Go here to read how Channel 2 Action News has uncovered documents showing McKinney spent about $1,000 of taxpayer's money to fly singer Isaac Hayes to Georgia to help dedicate a new office in Atlanta.

The money came from a fund members of Congress are supposed to use for office supplies.

New office. Office supplies. That's not such a reach. The real reach will be how she blames racism and racial profiling for this too.

Go Gators!

Florida Gators. #1.