40 Foot Crocodile Was Real; Moby Dick Was Real; Tom Horn Was Real

Sereno Compares Dogcroc with Supercroc

Alligators and Crocodiles strike fear in people.  Can you imagine a 40 foot “SuperCroc?”    The Supercroc still holds the title as the largest known crocodile to roam the earth but who knows if there was a bigger one?   After all, University of Chicago palaeontologist Paul Sereno announced the discovery of the fossil remains of 5 ”new” species of crocodile that measure anywhere from 3 feet to 20 feet.  Today, crocodiles can reach as large as 20 feet but that still is but half of the size of the supercroc.  Some of these species are thought to have been able to eat other dinosaurs.    Another example of how mankind does not know everything and has a lot to learn and discover.  Remember that next time you hear of some scientific report that says something is “settled science” or there is a “consensus.”  That does not make it true.  One thing that is true is that at 9pm on Saturday November 21 the National Geographic Channel will be airing When Crocs Ate Dinosaurs as part of their Expedition Week.

On This Date in History: In 1820, the US whaling ship Essex got attacked by an 80 ton sperm whale 2000 miles west of South America. The 238 ton vessel sunk and all died except for 5 men who survived in an open boats for 83 days before rescue….thing is….originally there were 20 survivors….as the 15 died off from exposure and such, the remaining men had a little meal at their comrades expense, if you know what I mean. Not sure that if someone died, someone rang the dinner bell.

A White Humpback Whale

Anyway, this story inspired the tale written by Herman Melville called Moby Dick. Melville’s work was written in 1851 but Hermie didn’t do too well at the book stores. After some early success as a writer, he died in 1891 relatively unknown and not very wealthy. It wasn’t until the 20th century that Melville’s genius and talent came to be known. Nowadays, many academics consider Moby Dick to be one of America’s greatest novels. Melville lived near Nathaniel Hawthorne and dedicated his whale tale to his friend and famous writer. But the book only sold 3000 copies.

Dano In The Right Stuff

The photo above is of course from the famous 1956 movie with Gregory Peck starring as Captain Ahab. It also has Richard Basehart and a cameo by Orson Welles as Father Maple. Another guy who shows up is Royal Dano who plays “Elijah” who was a drifter kinda guy who is pretty scary and prophesies to Basehart the the ship would be doomed by a great white whale. Later, Dano in the early 1980’s is the preacher in The Right Stuff who seems to represent death as he shows up at all of the funerals, test flights and space shots. One other interesting aspect of the movie: the screen play was written by Ray Bradbury and John Huston. Huston also directed.

Greenpeace in Battle

On a related note…on this day at this very moment, a small fleet of ships in a Japanese whaling expedition is on its way to the Arctic regions to hunt whales. They want to get 90 sperm whales among other specimens. I say specimens because whaling is banned world wide under an international treaty. But they can be hunted for research. The official mission of the fleet is for research. Yet, when they left port they left to great fanfare and people of small villages in northern Japan claiming they need to whaling so that they may carry on their thousands of years old culture. Greenpeace isn’t buying the scientific aspect and will attempt to thwart the harpooning of the great mammals. Perhaps Moby Dick will resurface and get a bit of revenge.

Tom Horn

On This Date in History: Tom Horn had worked as a US Army scout, deputy sherrif, and Pinkerton

Horn Looks A Little Heavier and Younger Here

Detective in the 19th Century. When General Nelson Miles had need of a “super-scout” to help track down Geronimo, he called on Tom Horn. It has been suggested that Horn even arranged for Geronimo’s surrender. Horn was no shrinking violet. While working for the Pinkerton Agency, he reported killed 17 men. His reputation was such that on one occasion he reportedly simply walked up to an accused robber and killer and announced that he had come for him. The man quietly surrendered rather than face Tom Horn. But, the detective business wasn’t exciting enough and Horn quit, saying, “It was too tame for me.”

In 1894 he was hired by the cattleman’s association in Wyoming to supposedly combat cattle rustlers but in reality was used as an enforcer against small ranchers and homesteaders who got in the way of the cattle barons. In effect, he was the law for the big shots and served as judge, jury and executioner receiving $300 to $600 for each man he took down. See, Horn didn’t see himself as murderer but instead believed that when men in authority, or even the law, hired him, he would be protected. It usually worked out that way. Horn said, “Killing is my specialty. I look at it as a business proposition and I think I have a corner on the market.” He usually lay in wait for his victim and then made his mark by placing a rock under the victim’s head.

Horn Making The Rope For His Own Gallows

But, the law caught up with Horn who was arrested in 1902 for the killing of a 14-year-old son of a settler the year before. In Cheyenne, the cattle barons paid for his defense and a sensational trial ensued with everyone thinking that he would be found not guilty. That was not to be the case. The prosecution had a legal reporter along with federal officer Joe LeFors and a deputy sheriff got a drunken Horn to supposedly confess to the killing. The “confession” was allowed in court and heard by a jury that was stacked with opponents of the cattlemen. Horn was convicted and on this date in 1903, Tom Horn went to the gallows after making the rope that was used in the hanging.

Steve McQueen’s 2nd to last movie was a biopic called Tom Horn with

McQueen Was a Great Tom Horn

Linda Evans, Slim Pickens and Richard Farnsworth. I guess the moral to the story is that no one is above the law and even if you get convicted of something you didn’t do, perhaps it is a justice of nature for all of the things that you did do but for which you were never caught. You may think that this held true for a certain Heismann Trophy, NFL Hall of Famer who is now in prison in Nevada.

A long bio of Horn. A shorter bio of Horn.

Weather Bottom Line:  Weekend looks great, but seasonably cool.

Shocking! Oprah Calls it Quits! Cops Taze 10-year-old girl!

Maybe Wally Sparks will replace Oprah

No more Oprah?  On the surface, the announcement that Oprah Winfrey will conclude her show on September 9, 2011 may look like a terrible loss to millions who watch her program on a daily basis.  Not so fast.  Ms. Winfrey didn’t get to be one of the most influential people in media and one of the wealthiest women in television for nothing.  She’s not killing the golden goose.  She may be killing the show only in preparation to give birth to her own network.  Yup, reports are that Oprah Winfrey is looking to launch the Oprah Winfrey Network or OWN.   The news that Oprah was starting her own network hit Variety in 2008 and the project has been delayed.  The announcement of her show’s cancellation has caused many to speculate that it is an indication that plans for the OWN Network are still progressing.

Better Be Good Kids, or Else

Perhaps that isn’t shocking news.  But a 10 year old got the shock of her life.  Seems that Arkansas police came to the home of a woman who said her daughter was not following instructions.  The girl was on the kitchen floor screaming and crying.  So, mom did what any mother would do.  She told the officer to use his taser.  Well, the cop didn’t comply with the request right away.  It wasn’t until she kicked him in the groin and upper legs while he was trying to take her into the squadcar to take her to a youth shelter that he whipped it out.   A couple of kicks to the old manhood resulted in a “very brief stun” to a pre-teen from the police officer.  That seemed to do the trick as he slapped the old braclets on her and carried her to the car.  (video news story)

Gettysburg Address Example of How Less is More and Lasts Longer

Not Many Photos Exist From Gettysburg

Close up of above photo with only known image of Lincoln at Gettysburg

On This Date in History: I have a few words concerning the events of November 19. 1863 but anything that I could say would pale in comparison to the speech reprinted below. It is the the Gettysburg Address and it was delivered 145 years ago today. The president was not invited until about two weeks prior to the ceremony. He was not the main speaker. Edward Everett, a noted statesman from Boston and Harvard President, was given two months notice to work on his speech, which took about two hours to deliver. Mr. Lincoln’s speech was but 270 words. It has been accepted that Lincoln wrote the address on a scrap of paper while on the train to Pennsylvania because it was reported that way in a novel. However, historian Stephen B. Oates points out in his biography, With Malice Toward None, A Life of Abraham Lincoln that the train was too crowded and noisy for him to work on it. Instead, Oates says that he wrote part of it on White House stationery before he left and finished the rest on the morning of the event in Gettysburg.

Verbiage in Invitation to Lincoln Very Interesting

It has been reported that the president was sick. While I find nothing to confirm that he was ill during the proceedings, I suspect that people have made the assumption, perhaps accurate, because after he returned to the White House, he was diagnosed with varioloid, which has been described as a mild for of smallpox. I’m not sure about that one because it seems to me that a “mild form of smallpox” is akin to being “a little pregnant.” Also, it is widely reported that his speech was panned in newspapers across the land. The Chicago Times and paper from Harrisburg, PA certainly show that there were some. However, not all papers were non-plussed by his remarks. In fact, the Chicago Tribune was sharply in contrast to its rival and even Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune recognized the greatness of the speech. I believe I recall a quote from Edward Everett who remarked afterward, “Mr President, you were able to say in a few minutes what I could not in two hours.” This is probably not a direct quote but something reasonably close.

Words of Nov 19, 1863 Long Remembered

Harrisburg Patriot and Union: “We pass over the silly remarks of the President; for the credit of the Nation we are willing that the veil of oblivion shall be dropped over them and that they shall no more be repeated or thought of.”

Chicago Times: “The cheeks of every American must tingle with shame as he reads the silly, flat, and dishwatery utterances.”

Chicago Tribune: “The dedicatory remarks by President Lincoln will live among the annals of man.”

Horace Greeley: “I doubt that our national literature contains a finer gem than that little speech at the Gettysburg celebration, November 19, 1863… after the close of Mr. Everett’s classic but frigid oration.”

Leaving Gettysburg For the Cemetery

I think what may be lost regarding the speech is what it shows. It is an early indication of where Mr. Lincoln was heading in terms of after the war. Even on a battlefield well north of Washington, Lincoln was confident of victory. What often gets overlooked is that on the same day, US Grant had forced the capitulation of Vicksburg which essentially gave the Union full control of the Mississippi River and effective cut the Confederacy in two. The victory at Vicksburg arguably sealed the deal for the outcome of the war. Mr. Lincoln was aware of that that and if you read carefully, you can see the hints of what his notions were regarding his intentions. He does not give a rah-rah victory speech with talk of retribution. He does not discriminate between the allegiances of the soldiers and speaks of the “unfinished business” and a “new birth of freedom.”  Clearly he is talking about concluding the war but he is also referencing a nation of freedom for all. This speech is not just one of honor but also one of reconciliation.  It has always eluded me of how differently our nation’s history might have been had the 16th president been allowed to conclude the “unfinished business.”  How would he have handled Reconstruction and the reconciliation of the former enemies.  John Wilkes Booth lives in infamy as the man who deprived the nation of “what might have been.”  There are 5 known drafts of the Gettysburg Address. Each seems to have some variance.  Here is a version of the Gettysburg Address:

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS: Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting-place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us–that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion–that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Weather Bottom Line:  The bottom line is that the crappy weather is coming to an end.  That dry slot I had mentioned for Wednesday ended up being pretty decent because we ended up with some nice afternoon sunshine but the gloom returns all day today. Friday through Sunday though, as the pesky cut off low finally gets booted, look for a lot of sunshine seasonally cool conditions with lows in the upper 30’s and low 40’s and highs in the 50’s.

Woman Jailed For Voting; Trains Finally Run on Time

The Criminal Susan B Anthony!

On This Date in History: The presidential election of 1872 was rather odd and somewhat brutal. It was between President Ulysses S. Grant and New York Tribune editor Horace Greeley. The first term of Grant had been clouded by some questionable moves and charges of corruption. When Grant was renominated, the Liberal Republicans split off and nominated Horace Greeley, who never saw a social reform he didn’t like. As an editor, he was brilliant. As a candidate, he was sorely lacking. The Democrats surprisingly nominated Greeley, who had once said, “all Democrats may not be rascals but all of the rascals are Democrats.” I guess the Democrats figured that they could get the split Republican vote as well as Southern Democrats who would vote for anyone who was for amnesty of Confederates and the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.

Susan B. Anthony

While Grant spent his summer at the seashore, the newspapers went wild with negative press on their former rival, Greeley. They made sport of his favoring prohibition, vegetarianism and living on communes. The Phrenological Journal even measured his cranium and came out with a detailed analysis of why he was unfit for office. Greeley grew despondent and was sent into a deeper depression as he sat at his wife’s bedside where she died on October 30, 1872. A week later he got swamped at the polls winning 6 states to Grant’s 30.

Sue Carried her Fight to our Friend Grover

If this weren’t enough, suffragette Susan B. Anthony carried through on her scheme to force the issue of women’s voting. On November 1, 1872 Anthony and a group of other women went to register to vote. They were rebuffed but Anthony threatened to sue and quoted the 14th Amendment and New York law that was silent on the subject of sex. The men who were responsible for registration allowed them to register out of fear and also because they figured that if anything went wrong, it would fall on the heads of the ladies. They were right. Anthony and a few other women voted on November 5, 1872 but later a Democrat poll watcher complained that Anthony had cast an illegal ballot. Susan B. Anthony was arrested on this date in 1872 for voting.    The trial of Susan B Anthony began on June 17, 1873 and ultimately, she was found guilty and fined $100 plus court costs but she openly defied the judge saying that she would never pay up.   She was right…she never paid.   The 19th Amendment was passed four years after Anthony’s death.   Here is a complete detail of the events surrounding the arrest of Susan B. Anthony.

 

No Way to Run A Railroad

World Time Zone Map...Invented by American Corporate Capitalists?

It’s About Time: It used to be that each town in the nation could set its own time. In New York it was noon while in Philadelphia it was 11:55 AM. Towns would go by “God’s Time” or “Sun Time”. I have no idea what the former was but the latter was probably derived by local noon i.e. when the sun was at its highest, which seems difficult since that would be different every day. Wisconsin had 38 different local times. That was no way to run a railroad. The railroads were the first mode of transportation that went rapidly over long distances. Scheduling depended on time, not just for passengers but also for the safety of the system. There were numerous train collisions because of confusion of time. So, in on this date in 1883, the railroads had the entire nation synchronize the time by using time zones, theoretically 24 that would circle the earth based on the prime meridian at Greenwich, England. Of course, some towns in true American style resisted. Bath, Maine rang its town square bell 20 minutes before noon every day and Augusta, Georgia insisted on pushing its clock ahead at noon to maintain sun time. But, corporate America eventually won out with the passage of the Standard Time Act in 1918. So, all of you who think that corporate America produces nothing but evil, take a look at your watch.

7PM Wed...system still lurking

Weather Bottom Line:  From MIC John Gordon at the Louisville National Weather Service…this is GIS DAY! They’re breaking out the party hats at the local weather office.  And let me tell you.  When you get a bunch of meteorologists together, they know how to party.  But, its been tough for them to come up with good party favors ever since the slide rule went out of favor.

As for the weather story, it remains the same.  We have the occluded front and the dying cut off low meandering slowly to the north and so the showers will stick around for the next day or so.  I would say “off and on” but the definition of showers is rain that is intermittent.  So, if you hear someone on TV say “off and on showers” or “intermittent showers” they are being redundant.   The thing is, they probably don’t even know that they are being redundant.  But, then again, I got nailed a few times for a grammatical faux paux so perhaps I should keep my rocks in the bag as I live in a glass house.  Anyway, call it cloudy and damp through Wednesday with perhap a few lingering light showers for the first part of Thursday.  Bottom line is the weekend looks good.  Pretty fair amount of sunshine but temperatures will be more seasonal than we’ve seen with highs in the 50’s and lows in the 30’s and 40’s.

Just a side note:  if the GFS is correct, then next Tuesday we may have something interesting to talk about with a strong front.  But, its a week away.  Let’s get through these crappy days and then enjoy the weekend before we worry about that.

Women Had Right to Vote, Lost it, Then got back the right to vote

New Jersey Women Stormed To Take Back What Was Once Theirs

Early Suffrage Poster Featuring George

On This Date in History: The original constitution of the state of New Jersey said that “all inhabitants” who met residency requirements and had a net worth of at least 50 pounds had the right to vote. I assume that it only meant whites but it certainly made no reference to women. The women of New Jersey apparently gave a collective yawn. They had not pushed for suffrage and there is no record of any woman voting prior to 1790.

Things went awry though in 1797 when a state legislature seat was up for grabs between Newark’s John Condict and William Crane of Elizabeth. Condict looked to be the winner until 75 women from Elizabeth showed up to vote for their favorite son. Condict still managed to hang on but the race was on for the female vote. Women were hauled to the polls in wagons and carriages by candidates in the elections that followed. (sound familiar?) Some of the ladies were even underage. But, in 1807, the freedom train came to a halt.

Over 100 years after women of NJ lost the vote, Billy Sunday took up their cause

Once again, the players were Newark and Elizabeth and the issue was the location of a new courthouse. Women were tossed and pulled by both sides as they tried to get them to the polls and convince them of the merits of each side’s position. Hijinx were at a premium as even young boys dressed up as women to try to cast a ballot. The rank and file of the elites were “shocked” by this “saturnalia of corruption and abuse” and on this date in 1807 New Jersey lawmakers quickly adopted new voting laws that took away the vote from the ladies. It would take over 100 years for them to get it back.

Moral to the story: Don’t take your opportunities for granted and squander what you have.

Wednesday 7 AM

Weather Bottom Line: Song remains the same as far as the forecast goes except that my great idea that things would get pushed back a bit seems to be out of favor with the machines.  This cut off low is just plodding along as it moves through its way on the downside of life.  Whenever you see an occluded front, that means that the storm is on the weakening phase of its lifecycle.  Both the GFS and the NAM advertise rain beginning on Tuesday morning, though the GFS is early morning and the NAM is mid morning.  Both carry rain through Wednesday night with totals of .86″ and .88″ respectively.  It won’t rain the whole time.  The graphic above depicts the occlusion already past us on Wednesay morning with our area in the dry slot between the front and the parent low.  So, if this were to come about as shown, then there would be a break before another round of showers.  My guess is that this guy is going so slow that we will be cloudy for the balance of the week, perhaps improving somewhat on Friday.  Temperatures will be closer to seasonal by then.

Man Gets “Bionic Bottom”; America Gets the 1st Teddy Bear

Did Steve Austin have more than just bionic limbs?

Bionic Limb Technology Is Here And Now We Have the "Bionic Bottom"

Do you remember Colonel Steve Austin in The Six Million Dollar Man?   He was a test pilot that was maimed in a wreck and the government spent $6 million to give him nuclear powered limbs.  I think he also had a bionic eye.  Science fiction?  It was then, just like the communicators in Star Trek were in the late 60’s and now we have cell phones that look a whole lot like the gizmo that Captain Kirk used to say ”Scotty, beam me up.”  Since the time of the TV show starring Lee Majors, bionic limbs have become a reality.   Butt, you know that we’ve truly moved into the space age because in England, doctor’s gave a man a “bionic bottom.”   The poor guy had gotten in a car accident and suffered internal injuries.  Apparently, he suffered great muscle loss on his backside and that made it impossible to maintain control.  He had been fitted with a colostomy bag, which is a pain in the ass, to say the least.  Now, with his bionic backside, all he has to do is flip a switch, just like using a garage door opener.  Kinda funny but also amazing, if you think about it.

Original Teddy Bear With a Bow

On This Date in History: President Theodore Roosevelt was an avid outdoorsman. He lived and traveled in the west and also established the national park system when he designated five areas as national parks. He later signed the Antiquities Act of 1906 that allowed he and his successors to claim certain sites, landmarks, prehistoric structures and other items as federal monuments. While he was a great advocate of conservation, he also was an avid hunter. On this date in 1902, he was on a hunting expedition in the Mississippi Delta. Having lived in Greenville, MS for a time, I’m familiar with the area and have seen the historic marker that marks what happened. He was on a bear hunt I guess the locals wanted to make sure that the president bagged some game. Some poor bear got chased by a bunch of hounds. Roosevelt came to find the bear, knocked unconscious and tied to a tree. He was expected to shoot it. He refused.

Here is another version. He was in Mississippi to settle a border dispute and decided to do a little hunting. A bear had killed a hunting dog and it was chased down. The animal was wounded when Roosevelt came upon it and ordered it killed for mercy. Still another story says that a small bear cub was brought to Roosevelt and he refused to kill it. When I lived in Louisiana they claimed that the bear was in that state…that may harken back to the border dispute.

Michtom's Original Teddy Bear in Smithsonian

Whatever…the story made the rounds along with a drawing. I’ve never heard the one about him ordering the mercy killing…I’ve alway heard the one where he let the bear live and the drawing supports that version. Entrepreneurs decided to take advantage. Brooklyn store owners Rose and Morris Michtom asked Roosevelt for permission in using his name for their marketing of a stuffed cute bear. Roosevelt agreed and the Teddy Bear was born. Another version of the story is that Margarette Steiff in Germany made a cute bear that was an instant international hit.

Here’s the bottom line. The Teddy Bear was inspired by some story about the 26th President of the United States and a bear. Between 1903 and 1911, millions were sold and the classic tradition continues to this day.

7 AM Monday (I bet this changes)

Weather Bottom Line:  First off, the bottom line is that we should be fine on Sunday and Monday with highs still pleasant each afternoon toward 70.  Then come the question marks.  I’ve seen the official forecast and it calls for the best rain chances on Tuesday.  But, that seems at odds with the model runs as both the GFS and NAM look pretty similar.  A couple of days ago I talked about a big fat low getting cut off in the Southern Plains.  Well, that is still indicated by both models and both have this guy lurk around Missouri for a couple of days as another shortwave behind it comes along and keeps it from moving too much.  It then lifts almost due north and then the next guy comes through the Ohio Valley by the end of the week. The second feature looks more formidable as far as we are concerned given its track.  The NAM throws out about 2/3 of an inch of rain and the GFS something more like 1/5 of an inch; both advertise the rain though from Tuesday evening through Wednesday, which is at odd with the official forecast.  I kinda like that scenario.  It seems to me that the cut off guy will be held up and a slow poke in response to the next one behind it.  Either way, Sunday and Monday look very nice.

1st “Christmas Parade” casualty of the season; Amelia, Ohio mayor gives tradition tapeworm

No Parade for Santa This Year in Amelia, Ohio

It’s not even Thanksgiving yet and we’ve already had our first Christmas Parade casualty. Not long ago, the village of Amelia, Ohio voted to remain classified as a village and not dissolve. For the past 28 years, the Amelia Business Association had sponsored the annual Christmas Parade but this year did not do so. The event was taken over by the village but the mayor was advised by attornies that the name should be changed to a “Holiday Parade.” The reason was a fear of lawsuits. Yet, no one is reported to have threatened to sue. The key word is “fear.” Unhappy citizens wanted a “Christmas Parade.” Church groups threatened a boycot and one church denied the use of its parking lot for the event. A group of citizens were working feverishly to fund the “Christmas Parade” going so far as to get insurance. But, lacking the wisdom of Solomon, the mayor of the village of Amelia cancelled the parade altogether. Read the first paragraph of the story carefully. It says that they were afraid of possible lawsuits from “religious groups.” However, nowhere in either story does it say anything about a religious group threatening a lawsuit. The threat from the lawsuit was apparently from no one except the minds of the lawyers and the mayor. Fear and possibility trumped reality…and as usual, the media got it wrong.  But, one thing I’ve always pondered.  These Christmas Parades typically are filled with more secular entries such as snowmen and Santa Claus.  If it is truly to be a “Christmas” parade, why haven’t there been calls for the elimination of the secular portions of the parade that have nothing to do with the real meaning of Christmas but instead secular tradition?

Fishing For Worms

A Nutty and somewhat disgusting This Date in History:

Figure 1

I guess in the 19th Century the tapeworm was a problem in the United States.   The tapeworm is relatively
common in the 21st century in Latin America, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. It comes about because of poor hygiene or undercooked meat. It’s really pretty nasty as it lives in one’s intestine and the only real clue that one has it is when it appears…use your imagination of how that happens. From what I have read, there really isn’t a symptom of weight loss. Anyway…so there may have been a problem of tapeworms in 19th Century America. Along comes American ingenuity, which isn’t always so great.

Dr. Alpheus Myers was a doctor in Logansport, Indiana and he came up with a “cure.” He called it a “tapeworm trap” and he received a patent(read details here) for it on this date in 1854. His invention was one that involved no surgical procedure or medicines. All a patient had to do was swallow a capsule of sorts that had bait inside it. Not sure what he used for “bait.” The patent said, “any nutritious substance.” Wonder if a Twinke would work?

figure 2

The capsule was attached to a string and the patient swallowed it “for a suitable duration to make the worm hungry.” What does that mean? An hour? A week? Someone was expected to walk around with a string hanging from his mouth waiting for the worm to get hungry. The worm was then expected to “seize the bait” at which time the trap catches its head in the trap. The string is then pulled out of the patients mouth and the head and entire length of the worm soon follows. I have no idea when one knows he’s caught a worm…does it tug on the line? Can you use a bobber?

If you try this at home, make sure that “in constructing the trap, care should be taken that the spring is only strong enough to hold the worm, and not strong enough to cause his head to be cut off.”

I’ll make a note of that.

Weather Bottom Line:  Enjoy the weekend.  Saturday some folks could kick up toward 70.  Sunday we’ll be in the upper 60’s as clouds increase but I really think that it will be dry for Sunday.  Cooler weather next week with a frontal boundary that will bring some rain.

Study: Friday 13th Costs Business near $1 Billion; Could 3 2009 Friday 13ths Be Root of Poor Economy?

Bad Luck: Horse or Driver?

Be Afraid For the Third Time This Year! Because there are 7 days in a week, there is at least one Friday the 13th each year. Sometimes there are two and occasionally, there are three. This year must be unlucky because there have been three after today is over. It looks like to me, though I haven’t researched it fully, that whenever there are three it often happens in February, March and November, but not always. The next time the trio of malaise shows up will be in 2012, then 2015 and then again in 2026.

According to the founder of the Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute, “It’s beenestimated that $800 or $900 is lost in business on this day because people will not fly or do business they would normally do. ” Some people are apparently so fearful that they won’t even get out of bed. I guess it’s Friday 13th for me every day because I never want to get out of bed. People won’t buy a house or even buy stocks. They claim that Friday 13th phobia affects some 20 million Americans. They’ll probably get a bailout from the “stimulus bill.” How do you know if you have the phobia? Symptoms are described as ranging from mild panic attacks to huge panic attacks that render the victim pretty useless to the point that they don’t go to work. If I had a job, I wonder if that would qualify as an excused sick day from work. An English psychologist interviewed about 2100 people in 2003 and found that about one fourth associated the number 13 with bad luck. Apparently, people who think of themselves as unlucky are most likely to believe in superstitions.

Deceptive Loki

Apparently, this obsession with the number 13 goes back a ways, as most of these type of things seem to do. This one is blamed on the Norseman that involves a story of 12 gods having a party at Valhalla. Presumably they aren’t talking about the golf course in Louisville. In walked an uninvited guest…a party crasher named Loki. Loki went and got Hoder, the blind god of darkness to fire a mistletow dipped arrow at Balder the Beautiful, the joy and gladness god. I suppose that mistletoe isn’t too good for you because Balder died. With the god of joy and gladness gone, the earth turned dark. Everyone was sad and it has been associated as a bad, unlucky day ever since.

They also try to drag Christianity into it by pointing out that Judas was the 13th person to show up at the Last Supper and then was the one who betrayed Jesus of Nazareth. If that’s not enough, then there is the Roman story of how 12 witches who routinely would gather together with the 13th who showed up being considered the devil.

A mathematician blames it all on the number 13 suffering the fate of following 12. This guy says that numerologists consider 12 a complete number as there are 12 months in a year, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus and 12 signs of the zodiac. If you exceed 12 by one, then you get a little beyond completeness and “the number becomes restless and squirmy, which suggests that numbers are alive. This fear of the number 13 has worked its way into modern culture as the claim is that 80% of all high rises lack a 13th floor.

Was I Cursed on 13th Floor at Jester Hall?

What does that mean for me? I lived on the 13th floor of Jester Hall at the University of Texas. I was a cursed freshman and didn’t know it.

Many airports apparently do not have a gate 13, Hospitals and hotels often do not have a room 13, in Florence, Italy houses between 12 and 14 get an address of 12 and a half instead of 13. French socialites are known as quatorziens or fourteeners so as to make sure they have 14 dinner guests. Wonder what happens if someone gets sick? Do they cancel the party?

Apollo 13 Doomed by 13?

Want proof of the evils of the number 13? Why just look at Apollo 13, the ill fated trip to the moon. It departed on April 11, 1970 at 1:13 pm Houston time. Never mind they launched on east coast time. Anyway, 1:13 pm is 13:13 in 24 hour clock time. April 11, 1970 can also be written as 4/11/70. Four plus One plus One plus Seven plus Zero equals 13. Or you can say 4+11+70 + 85 and 8+5 =13. Their last television broadcast was on April 13. They entered the moon’s gravitational field on April 13 and were scheduled to land on the moon on April 13. The failure of the number 2 oxygen tank occurred on Apirl 13th at 3:08:53.555 UTC which in the eastern time zone would be 9:08:53:555. 9+8+53+555=625 and 6+2+5 =13. If the explosion that caused the damage had occured on earth, it was supposedly estimated to cost $13 million to repair the damage. Seems like someone had a lot of time on their hands.

Gristle Can Cure What Ails You

Now, Friday seems to get suckered into this by going back to Christianity and pointing out that Jesus died on a Friday. What they fail to mention is that Christians ironically call this “Good Friday.” Supposedly, some biblical scholars claim that Cain killed Able on Friday the 13th and that Adam was tempted by Eve on a Friday. How they can know this is beyond me.

If you find yourself believing in all of this and have a fear of Friday 13th, then you should consider yourself a

Burn'em if you Got'em

triskaidekaphobe. But, there is hope for you. Modern psychology says that all you need to do is focus your mind on pleasant thoughts. You haven’t lost your mind, you’ve just lost control of your mind. You should realize that you have the ability to create your own luck and its up to you to decide if that is good or bad.

I don’t like those ideas. Since most of this is folklore, I like the old remedies. One is to climb a mountain or the top of a skyscraper…kinda like King Kong. Once you get there, burn all of the socks you own that have holes in them. What if you don’t have any holey socks. Then you can stand on your head and eat a piece of gristle. If you can’t stand on your head, don’t know what gristle is and don’t have holes in your socks, then I guess you’re just out of luck.

4th Coldest October In US History, Worst Outlaw in US History

Biggest Denver October Snow in 12 years

Oct 2009 Avg Temp rank by State

While Global Warming cannot be determined by any one set of data from any one country, I’m sure Global Warming enthusiasts will find a tougher time in the states arguing their point. That is because October  2009 was the 4th coldest October in recorded US history, which dates back to 1895. It was also the absolute wettest October in US history. Only Florida was decidedly hotter than averge with its October 2009 coming in as the 105th coolest month, or the 11th hottest. Oklahoma checked in with the coldest October on record. As I mentioned, by itself this data is irrelevant to climate trends. But, if this had been the 4th hottest October on record, don’t you think that it would make headlines? I wonder if the media doesn’t think that cold temperatures are just as newsworthy as hot temperatures.

Al Jennings-Worst Outlaw in the West

Crime Pays Or the Worst Outlaw in the West? Al Jennings was born in 1863 Virginia. His father was a judge and Al began practicing law in the Oklahoma Territory in 1889. Al’s law-partner, brother Ed Jennings, was shot to death in October 1895 by another lawyer named Temple Houston, who was the son of famous Texan General Sam Houston. When Houston was acquitted, Al and another brother Frank vowed vengeance. They took off after Houston but never caught up to him. So, what does any good lawyer who fails at a vengeance killing do? Join a gang. He and Frank robbed a Santa Fe train with their new found friends in 1897. Well, they tried to rob a train. This may be where the scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid comes from because these guys tried to get the guy in charge of the mail car to open it up but he refused, just like Woodcock did with Butch. But, instead of blowing up the rail car, these desperados got chased away by the conductor.

Temple Houston

They tried again. This time they piled up railroad ties across the tracks. instead of stopping, the engineer opened up the locomotive at full throttle and simply plowed through the obstruction. They then tried to rob an express office but a simple phone call from the office brought the town sheriff and a bunch of armed men. The would be robbers fled with nothing. Then they tried a bank but someone must have blabbed because when they arrived, the bank was surrounded by numerous armed men. The bumbling robbers left empty handed. So, they gang decided to return to what they knew best…train robbing!

Cabinet Saloon Where Temple Shot Ed

In another probable Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid inspiration, they tried a 3rd time when they flagged down a Rock Island passenger train and tried to blow up the two safes on board in a box car. The safes did not open but they did manage to blow up the box car. They did get $300 from the passengers though. But, they got no more chances. They were caught and sentenced to 5 years in prison…except for Al, who got a life sentence for robbery with intent to kill.

Jennings Mugshot 1902

Al goes to prison and who does he share a cell with but a guy named William Sidney Porter. After spending time listening to the tales of Jennings, Porter was released and took up the profession of a scribe, taking the pen name, O. Henry. O. Henry is considered one of the finest American short story writers of his time. Through his short stories, Henry managed to rehabilitate the image of Jennings and, On This Date in 1902, Al Jennings was released from prison after his sentence was commuted to 5 years by none other than President William McKinley. Jennings returned to Oklahoma to practice law. So, what does a lawyer who was a terrible train robber do? Why run for office. Not just any office…why not county attorney! In 1912, he ran on the promise that “when was a train robber, I was a good train robber. And if you choose me, I will be a good prosecuting attorney.” Obviously, Al had developed a politicians ability to stretch the truth and it helped because he won the nomination but lost the election. He ran for Governor in 1914 but opposition by newspapers left his campaign in third place when the votes were counted. So, where does a failed train robber and failed politician go? Why to Hollywood!

Jennings with Fatty Arbuckle's Cousin Andrew

O. Henry had encouraged him to write so he went out west and ghost wrote several movies, several of which were supposedly based on his life. The westerns portrayed him as being more treacherous than Billy the Kid, robbed more men than Jesse James and was a participant in nearly 25 face to face shootouts. I would say that there wasn’t much mystery in who the ghost was behind those scripts. Al continued this sort of thing the rest of his life as he was behind many of the B-movie westerns through the 1950’s with the lame scripts that were as phony as the image Jennings created for himself. To perhaps illustrate the level of Al’s position in Hollywood, the photo to the left is not of Al with star Fatty Arbuckle, but instead Fatty’s cousin, Andrew. Nevertheless, it was an interesting and certainly long life for Al, who did not pass away, for real, until 1961. He lived through Reconstruction, the Indian Wars, the closing of the frontier, two world wars and the dawn of the space age. So much to write about yet he chose to write about…himself…and most of that was not true, except his name, Al Jennings. Here is a biography, which is really funny.

Weather Bottom Line:  Still looks good for the rest of the week and really, I think, the majority of the weekend.  Look for highs Friday with lots of sunshine creeping to the low to mid 60’s after a cool start.  Then Saturday we mayget to 70 or so ahead of a very deep low pressure area.  I don’t think that we get rain until Sunday evening but clouds will be increasing during the day on Sunday.  Now, this low tends to get cut off in the Southern Plains.  After several days in that region, it is progged to move north-northeast and stay to the west of our area.  I’m skeptical of this solution.  We’ll see.  Either way, we wil be in the 50’s for next week so get out and enjoy the next few days.

Hundreds Dead, Thousands Homeless and Hungry in El Salvador Following Hurricane Ida

Is Flooding In El Salvador News To You?

Thousands Homeless in El Salvador

While Hurricane Ida fizzled, as expected, prior to making a US landfall near Mobile, AL it’s previous life was much more eventful and devastating.  In El Salvador, well over 100 people are dead and scores more missing after some of the mountainous areas of the Central American nation got 14 inches of rain in just four hours.  (See photo gallery)  Some 10,000 in El Salvador are in need of food.  However, from reading the reports, one can surmise that all of the rain that El Salvador received was not directly related to Hurricane Ida.  Reports claim that it rained for 5 days and US Navy Meteorologists suggest that an area of low pressure was drawn in from the Pacific in the wake of the tropical cyclone as it passed by.  But the bottom line is that rain brought mud and boulders cascading down the side of a volcano that buried towns and villages.  There was fear of such an event in the Philippines when Typhoon Mirinae crossed the region of the active volcano Mount Mayon.  Those fears were not realized but El Salvador did not fair as well.  Nicaragua took the initial impact of the minimal hurricane on November 5, 2009 and reports of damage and flooding as well as contaminated water supplies have prompted relieve efforts from Catholic Relief Services to that nation.  Some are comparing the rain and devastation to Hurricane Mitch in 1998 that killed some 11,000 in Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador and neighboring Central American nations.

The Commodore Was Stylish

On This Date in History:  Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt was worth $104 million when he died on January 4, 1877 at the age of 83.  That was about $2 million more than the US Treasury had in its possession.  Literally, richer than the government and, therefore, perhaps almost as powerful.  In 2007 inflation adjusted dollars, the figure comes to over $2 billion.  He made 90 percent of his fortune from railroads.  The odd thing is that Vanderbilt hated railroads and wanted nothing to do with them until he was 68 years old.   In his lifetime, railroads represented the new emerging market, so why would he be so adverse to such a once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity? 

Early Locomotive on Camden & Amboy RR More Like Iron Pony Rather Than Iron Horse

Well, Vanderbilt had done quite well for himself with a fleet of schooners that he contracted out to the US government to supply forts. That’s where he got the nickname “Commodore.”  As the steamships came about, he took advantage of that new technology and also subverted to law to make gains in that business.  Ultimately, he was vindicated by the US Supreme Court that broke a New York State monopoly granted to Robert Fulton.  Steamboats were fine for him but not steam locomotives.  His aversion dated back to this date in 1833, when he lay near death.  Cornelius Vanderbilt had the unfortunate distinction of being part of the nation’s first railroad accident the previous day.  He was a passenger on the Camden and Amboy Railroad bound for Perth Amboy, New Jersey.  An axle broke and the train jumped the track.  In America’s first fatal train wreck, two people were killed and the Commodore was left with two broken ribs and a punctured lung, which was often a fatal condition in 1833.  Riding in the car ahead of him was former President John Quincy Adams who was not hurt.

NYTimes Saw Vanderbilt as the New Colossus

The Long Island Railroad provided service between Boston and New York with a steamboat transfer.  Guess who owned the steamboats?  In 1844, Vanderbilt was elected as Director of the Long Island Railroad and in 1857, he got the vote as the Director of the New York and Harlem Railroad.  I suppose as director of two railroads, he could see the potential financial windfall and the dollar signs in his eyes overcame any psychosis he had in his head.  Secretly, he began selling his assets in the steamboat business and began buying up shares of the New York and Harlem Railroad in 1862.  He was worth $11 million when he began he started riding the Iron Horse and he never got off.  The stock soared to $50 a share.  He then bought the Hudson River Railroad in 1864 and then the New York Central Railroad in 1867.  While the Civil War raged on, it was business as usual for men in the North like Vanderbilt.  His acquisitions continued with some controversy but, eventually, he owned a railroad network that connected the eastern seaboard to the western frontier in the northern plains.  Wonder what he would have done had he really liked railroads?