Yao Ming Baby Birth Makes China Ask, How Tall? American or Chinese? May 23, 2010

Wonder if Van Gundy Will be the Godfather?

Yao and Ye Li Could Be Parents Standing Tall

If you recall, several months ago, I reported that a certain member of the Houston Rockets was expecting to become a father as his wife was pregnant with their first child.  It was not just another basketball player.  The player in question was none other than Yao Ming whose popularity probably exceeds that of any basketball player in the world due to his giant fan-base found in his native China.  For that same reason, he probably ranks near the top of the list of all professional athletes when it comes to world-wide name recognition.  Now, when I reported on the pregnancy announcement, I had suggested that perhaps his child may be the catalyst for world peace.  While that mayor my not prove to be true, I’m not so sure there won’t be some rough spots before we get to that point.  See, Yao and his wife, Ye Li  had a baby girl on May 21, 2010.  But, here’s the catch: the little girl was born in Houston.  That means that, by birth, she is an American citizen.  But, China forbids dual citizenship and both of her parents are Chinese citizens.  Hmmm…could be a bit of international intrigue before we get to my ideals of global cooperation. For months now, stories have circulated concerning fans in China asking if the child would be a Chinese citizen.  So far, I believe the answer, if there is one, remains in the minds of the parents. 

Tale of the Tape: Speculation Regarding Height of Ye Li and Yao's baby

 At the time of the pregnancy news, the China Daily ran a story regardling speculation of how tall the child would be given that Ye Li is 6’2″ and Yao is 7’6″.  For the record, the baby came in at a fairly pedestrian 7 pounds 6 ounces (though some sources claim 9 ounces).  In the meantime, there have been several birth announcements in the press.  Most, like the USA Today article, are simply reprints of the AP story.   The Houston Chronicle had its own story but it included just two short paragraphs.   The Singapore Straits Times wasn’t much more helpful.   And suprisingly, the China Daily birth announcement was also not filled with much more than anything else except for one line.  In relation to the question whether or not the child would be American or Chinese, it says the Mings consider the birth a “private” matter.  I suppose that explains why there isn’t much more news on the subject other than the child was born.  I suppose it remains for pundits to determine if that small statement is particulary telling or not.

Funeral Obsessed Frances

On This Date in History: Frances Hiller was what we might call eccentric. The 18th century woman was married to a doctor who had made a fortune from a patented medicine that he had invented. Frances bought hundreds of hats and wore costly jewelry, even when gardening. Her odd ways may have dervied from the fact that she had 23 children! She was rather economical in that department as well as the 23 kids includes 7 sets of twins. That is amazing but its also quite sad because not a single child lived beyond infancy. So, she had attended a lot of funerals, which may explain her strange story.

Hiller Financed Frances Eccentricies

While she lived, Frances Hiller planned her own funeral which included a very ornate casket. Dr. Henry Hiller hired a famous wood carver to fashion a pair of exquisite caskets. But, Hank went and died in 1888 before the caskets were finished. So, she kept her husband’s body in a vault until the work was completed. It had hand carved vines, cupids, bats, dragons and angels, which seems like a display of contrast. Perhaps the angel was slaying the dragon. If the angel was doing battle with the large reptile, it would have to watch out for the skull that featured lizards crawling out of the eye socket. When the finally got around to burying Henry, he was taken in his fabulous casket in a procession that marched to the sounds of a military band and was escorted by a procession of 2000 people.

In 1893, she married her chauffer…..a boy toy perhaps? I dunno but part of the deal was the guy had to change his name to Henry Hiller. I suppose thats not a bad trade from being a chauffer to being married to a rich widow. Anyway, she was married but kept her casket handy…even on display in her parlour. She would climb into it and show visitors how she would look when she was dead. She even had a life-sized wax replica of herself made to place in the casket so she could see what she’d look like six feet under. Finally she died in 1900 and I bet the chauffer didn’t sign a pre-nuptual agreement so he made out pretty well.

Such an Eyesore Even Photographers Kept their Distance

So, she finally got her wish and made it to the casket on this date in 1900. It was a duplicate of the one Henry had used. The wood was of the finest quality which means it was quite heavy. It took 10 men to carry it. The funeral car was drawn by 4 black horses with black netting. The funeral car sagged terribly from the weight and almost fell apart. A journalist who was on hand said that the excitement and hoopla was only matched by the local cattle fair. Frances was placed in an enormous masoleum that were quite a site…but in 1935, they were condemned as an eyesore. The cemetery tore it down and buried the couple in their ostentatious coffins. Today, all that remains are an urn and bronze plates that mark the location. This brings to mind the old adage…you can’t take it with you.

We can use some boring weather

Weather Bottom Line:  We have a summer-like week ahead.  A big fat ridge over the eastern US will prevent any major systems coming in.  Look for highs generally in the mid 80′s for the first part of the week followed by upper 80′s thereafter.  Our dewpoints on Sunday afternoon were already  in the upper 60′s and there is no reason to think it will get any drier anytime soon.  So, with that type of moisture content and pretty warm temperatures, we may get a pop up afternoon t’shower or two each afternoon but, for most, it will be a pretty boring week ahead with any rain that falls being the exception rather than the rule.  It’s okay.  After all the rain we’ve had, boring isn’t a bad thing for awhile.  Oh…BTW…I’ve seen for many days now the models trying to put a 1008 or 1004 mb low off the SE coast of the US later in the week.  With hurricane season getting going on June 1, don’t be surprised to see this feature showing up on local and national newscasts.  The general consensus  is that the hurricane season will be more active than average, which fits into the idea that we are in the midst of a cycle of a more active tropical Atlantic which has been observed and noted for a long time before the idea of global warming came to the public conscience.  So, while there may be an attempt to connect the forecast with climate change, it may not hold water.

Lottery Winners Often Become Losers January 7, 2010

Lottery Winner's Houseboat?

I had always figured that if I won the lottery, the first thing I would do was make my phone number unlisted and unpublished.  I never understood the need for an attorney because generally they just take money.  Unless there was some legal snafu, then Perry Mason can sit this one out.  I already have a Financial Consultant and used to be one myself.  I would not contact any insurance folks as that would fall under the investment advisors arena and, again, I was licensed in that too.  I have an accountant and would be on the phone with her immediately.  I also would not go on TV if I could avoid it. Some states allow winners to remain anonymous, though I”m not sure that’s a great way to show transparency and invites charges of corruption. 

Lottery Winner's Limo?

In any event, I once worked with a guy whose father-in-law won $1 million.  I told him what  would do and he didn’t do it.  He got a lawyer to sit with him on a tv interview.  The lawyer said nothing.  I think the winner just liked the idea of being on tee vee with “my attorney” whom he referenced several times.  I had thought he’d get phone call from every insurance agent and stock broker in the state.  He did. But he also regularly got calls from women offering to come to his house for a mere $1000 a week!  I never thought of this one.  I had thought that publicity could also be an advertisement for every criminal within hailing distance.  A winner in Florida may have been a victim of both a woman and a criminal.

Abraham Shakespeare

Abraham Shakespeare once lived with his mother while he worked as a truck driver’s assitant.  Three years ago, Abraham Shakespeare won $30 million in the lottery.  He was assailed by friends and family looking for a piece of the action, which is typical.  It also wasn’t out of the norm that he was sued by a fellow employee who claimed they owned half the ticket.   The judge thought that was a fraud.  Now,  Shakespeare himself wasn’t an angel.  He had a rap sheet but perhaps his new found wealth could turn things around for him.  He was approached by a woman who said she wanted to write life story.  That is a little more creative than simply offering to hang around in his house for $1000 a week.  I do not know if Shakespeare knew that this “writer” was a high school drop out, but probably not.  See, she also became a financial advisor.  She claimed that he wanted to get away from all of the hangers on and she helped him “disappear.”  No one has seen Abraham Shakespeare since April and now Florida police think that the woman may have indeed made him disappear for good. 

Jack Whittaker: Winning Took Its Toll

I’m not sure that anyone could be unluckier than someone who got murdered, but there are some that claim one of the biggest single winners in history holds the title.  If you recall, Jack Whittaker won a $314 million jackpot.  It was assumed at the time that he would be able to handle it since he was already used to handling a large estate as it was reported that Whittaker was a millionaire at the time of his good fortune.  Well, that wasn’t the case.  Whittaker has been involved in some tragic and bizzare incidents that includes a couple of deaths, his getting into physical altercations which led to lawsuits and also having been had by some locals who knocked him out and took a cool half a million from his car.  Most experienced money people don’t ride around with $500,000 in their car.  He’s been sued a number of times and his last venture into court found him pleading poverty.   But, he’s not alone.  Many times, lottery winners end up worse off than they had been regardless of their status when they became a big winner. 

Carl Atwood won $57,000 in an Indiana Lottery game that was taped on TV.  He was to return with a chance to win $1 million.  He never made it.  A couple hours after he won the initial prize, he was run over by a truck. 

A man named Arnim Ramdass was part of a pool of people who bought a winning lottery ticket.  He didn’t tell his wife.  She became suspicious when he disconected the phone and kept the TV turned off.  He skipped out on her when she found out about the windfall.  She tried to sue but the judge dismissed the case saying it should be in a divorce court.  She’d love to take it there, if she could find her Ramdass.

Unlike Bud Post, this Lottery Winner's Fortune Turned for the Better-a rare tale

That judge wouldn’t give a wife part of the money, but a Pennsylvania judge ruled that William “Bud” Post had to turn over 1/3 of his $16.2 million in winnings to his former landlady (or ex-wife or girlfriend-depending on who you believe) because she said that they had agreed to split any winnings. He denied it but the judge ruled for her.  He ended up dying in poverty.

At least one story ended up with a happy ending.  Frane Selak survived a train wreck, a plane crash that killed 19 others, a bus crash, a flaming automobile and  two other car wrecks.  Just when it looked as if a dark cloud loomed over his head in a hellish life, he won the lottery and he lived happily ever after.

GFS claims nearly 4 inches by 1AM Saturday

Weather Bottom Line:  Snow White and I like to feed the animals and especially when its icy, snowy or cold.  People neglect Henry’s Ark in winter and the little fellas (and the big ones too) get hungry and miss the attention.  The poor old ducks at Cave Hill Cemetery suffer from lack of food and also from a frozen pond.  So, I made the mistake of going to the grocery store to get four loaves of bread for us to feed to the ducks on Thursday when it snows.  Bad idea.  I said that either everyone knows that it’s going to snow on Thursday so they’re buying their milk and bread, or it must be Friday. Turns out, it was “Seniors Day” and every senior citizen in town must have been in the store to get their discounted supplies.

NAM only has about 2 inches by 1am Saturday

The snow is coming and I still think its going to be pretty much what I’ve seen since last weekend.  The low should run almost right over us and the raw data seems to suggest about 2 inches.  But, if I assume that its a much drier, fluffier snow than average, then it may be more like 2-3 inches with about 2 inches on Thursday and something less than an inch for Thursday night through Saturday as we get flurried to death.  But, graphically, the GFS still is insisting on close to 4 inches while the NAM has a graphic depiction of about 2.5 inches.  The only thing that messes this up would  be if the low tracked about 100 miles farther south; snow totals would then be higher.  But, nothing suggests that will happen.  Friday and Saturday will not only be cold but also a wind of 12-25 mph will take its toll.  If we do clear the skies and decouple from the winds on Sunday morning, I still think some readings below zero will be a fair bet with the warmest locations in the low single digits. If there’s too many clouds or its too breezy, then forget it…but I think we’ll get it.  Warm-up to above freezing temperatures for the first time in 2010 may come about before January 15…but I don’t think too many people will be upset if I got that one wrong.  From midweek on, we start to moderate our temperatures as the long wave pattern finally changes…but don’t break out the tanning butter.  In general we’ll move back toward seasonal January temperatures and that’s still a little chilly.

Burning Bodies To Create Electricity? New Twists on Burying the Dead December 9, 2009

Beware of the Man Eating Goonch!

Everyone is looking for more efficient ways to create energy.  Some or turning to wind energy, others to solar power and then there are efforts to harness the tidal movements of the ocean to create usable energy.  A new proposal has come about in England that is rather ingenius, if not disturbing for some.  See, crematorians need a lot of energy.  So, someone came up with the bright idea to capture the heat used to burn human bodies and use it to generate electricity.  Not sure how that would fit into Cap and Trade. 

Man Stood at His Own Wake for 3 Days; Why not stand for eternity?

In Australia, not everyone is eager to be cremated but instead prefer to find eternal peace.  But  laying everyone rest takes up a lot of space.  Even though has a huge plot of land in Western Australia that is basically unhibatable, there is a shortage of space for cemeteries.  An Australian company has come up with a great idea.  Why not bury people standing upright?  Not exactly the restful position envisioned by most people, but the entrepreneur is taking an additional approach.  Not only does it save space, but it also will help save the planet.  He says that by simply drilling a 9 and a half foot deep, 30 inch wide hole and sticking gramps in the hole in a biodegradable bag, then the entire process is Green because it produces less carbon dioxide.  How? No casket.  One guy already took it one step farther.  He asked that he be left standing at his own wake.  He died and stood for three days to greet all of his visitors.

Freeze Dry Dead Guy Garden

Perhaps that is not high tech enough for you.  I mean, we are in the 21st century.  And a Swedish company agrees.  Instead of cremation or burial (vertically or horizontally) they have a better idea.  How about freeze dried?  Using liquid Nitrogen, dead bodies are frozen and then broken into bits so small it creates a powder…sorta like a fine slushy.   But, they use a vacuum process to remove all moisture and then a filter to remove any excess metals..you know…in case gramps had a pace maker or fillings.  And, there you go…ashes to ashes dust to dust.  The company suggests that you can put gramps’ powder on the grave to take advantage of all of the nutrients.  Hey,  why not package it and sell it as fertilizer?  I guess that grave that have plants growing the biggest and brightest is the ultimate proof that the person really was full of manure.

Goonch Has Teeth Like a Shark

But like all new things, alternative burials can create unintended consequences.  It seems that in the region near the India-Nepal border, for many years there have been ritual burials in which a body is burned to some degree and then the burned bodies or remains are tossed into the Great Kali River.  It seems that the river has a type of catfish called a “goonch” that regularly dines on the human remains.  Legend has it that there is a large creature that prefers humans that are alive and a researcher has determined that the legend is real and that the predator is a giant “goonch” catfish that has gotten fat over the years from being fed the dead.  The conclusion is that through encouragement, the local customs have created a giant man eating fish.   He is suggesting that locals start using the more “ecofriendly” method of burial at sea.

Louisville Peak Wind Gusts Wednesday Morning to 9AM

Weather Bottom Line:  Today is going to be pretty lousy.  Oh, the rain is out of the picture for the morning; but the wind and falling temperatures will be the issue.  Overnight we had wind gusts to 46 mph in Louisville and the temperature climbed to 58 degrees at 4AM.  By 9AM we had lost 10 degrees from that high and the main push of cold air will be pushing in by afternoon.  Don’t be surprised to see below freezing temperatures by your drive home from work.  Winds will generally be 20-40 mph with perhaps higher gusts but I doubt if anyone will hit the ballyhooed 60 mph.  The waves on the river should be pretty good by late morning with a westerly component to the wind. As the wind shifts more northwesterly by late day, the waves should back off somewhat.  Maybe some wrap around flurries late Wednesday since the cold air will be trying to squeeze out whatever moisture that it can.  Still think we won’t get out of the 20′s on Thursday.  There is another system that comes out of the west for the weekend that seems to me may begin as snow but warm air should surge northward and then it would turn to rain.

Man loses $127 million in Las Vegas; Monument to The General Opens to Public December 6, 2009

For Mr. Watanabe, I Guess There is a Problem

WSJ Says Mr. Watanabe has the biggest losing streak in Las Vegas History

As I freshman in college, Soviet Paul and I once lost about $300 playing some game called Pflugerville to a bunch of seniors in the fraternity.  It wasn’t until later that I found out that Pflugerville was a town north of Austin, Texas and the card game was an invention of a bunch of drunk fraternity brothers who had partied down there one night.  I felt like an idiot.  Still makes me mad.  But, I don’t feel so bad anymore.  Meet the man who lost $127 million at Las Vegas casinos in one year.   When you consider that would be just a little under $348,000 a day for every day of the calendar year, its really a pretty tough trick. Also consider this:  this one gambler’s losses resulted in 5.6% of the total revenues for the year.   So, if you are the casino, do you extend him a credit line?  Do you let him keep gambling?  The answer is yes on both accounts.  Terrance Watanabe of Omaha, Nebraska still owes $14.7 million to Harrah’s Entertainment from the credit line it extended.  He’s not forking it over either..

When you're sinking, its wiser to abandon ship than to go down with it

The reason is, according to the Wall Street Journal,  that the 52-year-old Watanabe has filed a lawsuit claiming that “casino staff routinely plied him with liquor and pain medication  as part of a systemic plan to keep him gambling.”  The advertising campaign says that “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.  Watananbe could be the poster child for the idea that your money stays in Las Vegas too.  And that’s the way the Nevada authorities wants it to stay, so the Clark County Attorney General brought 4 felony counts against the Nebraskan for intent to defraud and steal.  That would mean that he ran up the credit line with the intention of not paying it back.  How can you prove intent to defraud or steal and intent to use the houses money to try and win back what you lost?  Sounds like a tough case.  Either way, with a losing streak like that, perhaps Watanabe should use the Detroit Lions or the New Jersey Nets logo as his company’s moniker.

Washington Preferred This Monument To Himself

Early Obelisk Design Following Equestrian Proposal

On This Date in History:   While he is relatively anonymous, Steve Sopher was born on this date in 1961.  While his friends and family think highly of him, there is no monument to commemorate his life on earth, though he might eventually construct one to himself.   Now, you know that you are a pretty big dog when plans for a monument to your life are begun while you are still alive. This was true of General George Washington. Even before he was the first president, A proposal was made by Congress in 1783 that a memorial be erected. However, the obleisk may even better signify Congressional ineptitude that has been the hallmark of the institution almost since its inception.

General Washington was quite pleased with the original design, which featured the avid horseman on the back of his favorite horse. Money was short though and Congress quibbled about the best way to pay tribute to the father of the country and so the project remained dormant for a time. In 1833, patience had grown short with the upper and lower chambers and so a group of citizens decided to take charge and form the Washington National Monument Society with a mission of raising the appropriate funds and oversee construction. But, even the wheels of the citizen bandwagon turn slow sometimes and a cornerstone was not laid until July 4, 1848. The ceremony was probably the best advertising that the effort had ever received as contributions poured in from banks, organizations and individuals as well as various states. Alabama came up with a commemorative plaque for the interior. Firemen, Indian tribes, social clubs and foreign countries including the Vatican joined in the effort.

Standing Idle in 1860

Pope Pius IX himself donated a plaque that on March 6, 1854 was stolen from the contruction grounds, allegedly by the American Party, who gained fame as the “Know-Nothings.” Americans who considered themselves as “native” Americans because they were born in the New World, had a not-so-secret oath to vote for only American-born protestants and to oppose the Catholic Church. They held disdain for the waves of immigrants moving in largely from Irish and Germany. These groups of people were mainly Roman Catholic. If they were ever asked about their politics, a member would answer like Sargeant Schultz and say “I know nothing.” In 1855, these Know-Nothings gained control of the monument society and Congress promptly cut the planned $200,000 earmarked for the project. That caused public support to dry up quickly. For the next 3 years, only 4 feet of marble was added and it was such poor quality, those four feet would have to be removed. Work stopped completely during the Civil War and the stub of marble remained as an eyesore in the middle of town.

Three Different Shades

Advance to the national centennial of 1776 and Congress authorized funds for the completion of the project. But,the US Army Corps of Engineers took a look and decided that there was no way on God’s Green Earth that the earth would support the weight of the monument. So, it took time and money to dig out nearly 3/4 of the dirt under the project so that concrete foundation footings could be poured. The proposed height of the obelisk was reduced from 600 feet to 555 feet 5 1/8 inches. Work was resumed in 1880 and the project was completed on this date in 1884 and was open to the public in 1888. Due to difficulties in delivering marble and the previous stops and starts, 3 different types of marble was used in construction of the monument, each with different colors and quality, resulting in a distinctively different look as one looks from top to bottom.

The Washington Monument is not the tallest obelisk in the world.  Texans deliberately made the San Jacinto Monument 15 feet taller.  Nevertheless, visitors to the Washington Monument can go inside and  see 190 commemorative plaques along the staircase, including one from the Vatican. The original was never recovered….they say it rests somewhere in the Potomac River and a replacement took longer to get across the pond than it did to build the monument. The replacement Vatican Plaque took its place among the rest in 1982, 128 years after the Know-Nothings almost brought the entire project to a halt. If they had just followed the desire of General Washington, then it may have been completed long before. He just wanted a horse.

GFS Not Real Enthused For Snow Accumulation Through Monday Evening

Weather Bottom Line:  I took a look at the vertical profiles progs and for Monday, neither the 18Z GFS nor the 18z NAM are too enthused about snow.   The GFS has some rain that turns to about a quarter inch of snow.  But,  for Wednesday night, it advertises an inch of snow.  The NAM has no snow for Sunday or Monday but rain carrying over from Monday into Tuesday.  The ECMWF and CEM models are similar with the first low keeping to our west bringing rain with perhaps some wrap around snow and then both have the more significant system on Wednesday but they aren’ t as bullish on the wrap around snow as the GFS.  My guess is that we don’t see significant snow.  Perhaps a little on Monday but I”m not so sure where the moisture will come from with the second system when the temperatures are below critical levels for the Wednesday/Thursday time frame.  That is still several days away and I still like that systems chances for bringing us some accumulations than the first system. 

We only made it to the mid to upper 30′s on Saturday and I betcha we only have some of the folks in the low 40′s for Sunday.  But, if you have chores, Sunday should be the time as there are several opportunities for precipitation in the week ahead.  We probably won’t get back up to seasonal temperatures until next Sunday.

Man Marries a Cartoon, Groom Tweets From Alter, Physicists Make World’s Smallest Snowman-Are we Doomed? December 5, 2009

Guess it was a slow day at the National Physical Laboratory in West London

Science has brought so many advancements to human life.  One would think that today’s researchers are working to solve problems of over-population, hunger, disease and even global warming; and they probably are.  But these physicists found time to create the world’s smallest snowman.  I’m not sure what they were trying to prove, what they were supposed to be doing or if they were just fooling around.  But, I’m sure those who are funding their work might like to know.

True Love Tweeter or Just A Twit

Was that stupid?  I dunno…they were probably working on some other project and the snowman building was showing what they could manipulate on a small scale.  But, I think that the story of the groom tweeting from the alter is pretty far out in left field.  The guy interrupted the minister so that he could take out his phone.  He kept himself out of the early doghouse by handing a second phone to his bride.  But still…tweeting and going on facebook when you are before the eyes of God making your devotional pledge?  How romantic.

SAL9000 Shows Off His Bride

Bride

Speaking of romance and technology…this guy in Japan married a computer generated character from a popular video game.  The groom was some guy who calls himself SAL9000 says he fell in love with Nintendo DS “Love Plus” character Nene Anegasaki after he apparently had failed flings with other computer generated characters.  The ceremony was broadcast live over the web.  Darn…I missed it.

Funny Elf

And finally, the kids could have stood to miss this.  Seems a man dressed up as an Elf told Santa that one of his bag of Christmas presents was filled with dynamite.  William C. Caldwell, III is a slight man of just about 5 feet tall and got in line to visit Santa at a shopping mall dressed up as an elf.   The 45-year-old Caldwell had a surprise for Santa, though I’m not sure if he sat on Santa’s lap to whisper it in his ear.  But, when he got to the front of the line, he twice told Santa that he had dynamite in his bag.  Turns out it was a hoax.  Funny guy.  He’s in jail.

Jarbidge Victim Not So Lucky

On This Date in History: Jarbidge, Nevada is in the northwest quandrant of Nevada in a pretty out-of-the way place along the Idaho border. It had a population of nearly 1200 in 1911 but mining operations ceased in the area by 1932. The town population has dwindled to around 20. While it has people and the post office is still open 5 days a week, it either is or has a ghost town…not sure if the ghosts are counted among the 20 or not. I”m also not certain if it was supposed to be JarbRidge but someone stole the “r”.

Anyway, on this date in 1916 it was a rather cold and brisk day in Jarbidge, which is not too surprising given its location and its reputation as a town that collects lots of snow. The postmaster grew concerned because the mail stage was 3 hours late. Remember, the automobile had not been around for very long and in difficult terrain, a horse was a much better mode of transportation. So, a search party went out and found the empty stagecoach at 11PM. They also found the driver with a fatal bullet wound. Nearby lay a bloodstained overcoat.

On The Case in 1916?

Kuhl Got Out of Jail Free

I’m not sure if the detective on the case was Columbo but they certainly seemed to solve the crime before the closing commercial because authorities went straight to Ben Kuhl who was known thereabouts as a drifter. People in the town knew that Kuhl had been seen in a similar overcoat. In Kuhl’s tent, they found a pistol. Another key piece of evidence was an envelope that was picked up near the coach. The envelope had a bloody palm print. Now, police work was starting to line up with science around that time (Remember Hec Ramsey?) and so they made an impression of Kuhl’s palm print and it was identical to the one found on the envelope. The sherrif also arrested 3 other men known to have run with Kuhl. It’s a long story (here’s a version) but they released one guy and another got off for agreeing to testify against the other two. One of the men was given a life sentence but he only served a little more than 6 years before being paroled. In Kuhl’s case, the jury took but two hours to determine a conviction of murder in the first degree. His sentence was death. He chose a firing squad over a hanging but neither was necessary. After numerous appeals, his sentence was commuted to life. But, he too was paroled, but his trek to freedom took longer as he got out in a little less than 28 years. Ben Kuhl died a year later of tuberculosis.

Ramsey Was CSI before CSI

This marked the first time that a palm print was admitted as evidence in the case. It also marked the last time that a stage coach was ever robbed. The jury bought the latest in technology relating to crime-scene evidence and Kuhl was convicted. But, of the $3000 taken in the robbery, only $182 was recovered. Maybe the ghosts of Jarbidge spent the rest. Or maybe, the guy that they released spent it all. But the man responsible for putting Kuhl behind bars in the first place was also the man who set him free. See, the prosecutor at Kuhl’s trial was a man named Ted Carville….the very same Governor Carville who paroled Kuhl on April 16, 1943.

On a side note, in the trial of the man who only served 6 years, Carville asked the press not to report the trial, in fear that it would taint the jury in Kuhl’s trial. The press obliged. Think that would happen today? Do you think that two men who were convicted of being an accesory to murder would get paroled 6 years and 28 years later?

Weather Bottom Line:  Forecast remains on track….while GFS is backing off midweek snow stuff…others still insist on it.  The key factor will be whether or not the low tracks to our west or to the east.  Have to wait and see.  A few folks might see 40 on Saturday.  Sunday everyone gets to the low 40′s.  Plenty of sunshine each day.   Monday’s system could bring some insignificant snow but really nothing too exciting.  We’ll look at it closer through the weekend.  Main point is that its not warming up any time soon…probably below seasonal average 49 for at least the next week.

Woman Gets Amnesia After Sex; Nation Has Amnesia Regarding 1st Woman Elected to Congress November 8, 2009

We’ve heard of amnesia.  Few of us have ever really encountered anyone actually getting amnesia and our knowledge of the condition is generally limited to tv shows or movies.  There was the recent case of the man in Seattle who apparently had amnesia.  Many people speculated that he was faking it.  But, amnesia is apparently more common than we think.  Transient Global Amnesia occurs with some frequency in people over 50.  It is triggered when there is strenuous activity.  That would include bowel movements.  That’s got to be some trauma…both the event that caused the amnesia and the resulting amnesia.  But, there is another fairly common causation.  Sex.  This woman suffered from amnesia after sex with her husband.  Oh, she finally recovered but she can’t recall one thing: having sex with her husband.  Experts say she must have had fun.

On This Date In History: The 19th Amendment to the Constitution that guaranteed women the right to vote was not ratified until August of 1920. However, on this date in 1916, Jeanette Rankin(bio) was basking in the glow of becoming the first woman elected to Congress on the previous day. How does that work?

Well, western states were in a somewhat leadership position regarding suffragettes. Wyoming gave women the vote in 1869 when it was still a territory. Utah, Idaho and Colorado voted for the suffragettes by the turn of the century. One must remember, there is no such thing as a Federal Election. All elections are state or local. So, states can pass their own voting laws. Rankin was from Montana and after working in New York as a social worker and getting involved in the women’s suffrage movement. She moved home to Montana in 1914 because she believed that the western states offered the best opportunity to gain women’s suffrage due to their pioneering spirit that she thought gave more respect to women and their ability. She was right because shortly after she moved there, women in Montana got the right to vote. She was elected to Congress in 1916 with strong support from men and women. When she went to Washington, the nation looked to see if she could handle the office.

Several books on Rankin Available (click image)

Handling the office was not an issue. What became an issue was her strongly held beliefs. She was elected as a Progressive Republican and she held strong pacifist views. When the vote to enter World War I came up, she voted against it. Even though 55 other Congressmen voted against it, she was ridiculed by many as not having the ability to take on the responsibility of national office. Others though said she showed strong, courageous leadership in her vote. She remained in office through World War II. She held on to her convictions and voted against that war too. She is the only member of Congress to have voted against the United States entry in both world wars. This time, she voted alone.

Old Gal Still Stirred things up in 1960's

Seems Jeanette was one of those who thought that President Roosevelt had deliberately provoked the attack on Pearl Harbor. That didn’t sit well with anyone, including her constituents in Montana. So, instead of being defeated, she declined to run in 1943. But, she wasn’t done. In 1968, the 88 year old Rankin led a march on Washington to protest the Vietnam War. Rankin died in 1973 but you’ve to admire her. While I would not necessarily agree with her positions, one has to acknowledge that, unlike most politicians, she had a core belief and never knuckled under and remained active in promoting that belief until her last breath. Rather remarkable on many levels if you think about it.  The Jeanette Rankin Foundation awards scholarships or low-income women over the age of 35.

Tuesday 7 AM wet drive to work?

Weather Bottom Line:  A spectacular Sunday will lead us into an almost equally as nice Monday.  Perhaps it’s time to use up that extra sick day for the year.  Highs again will be in the low 70′s with some folks perhaps pushing the mid 70′s.  But, clouds will be on the increase late in the day.  A cold front is sweeping down from the west and northwest.  Chances for rain will start to increase late Monday evening and continue to rise into Tuesday when there will be a pretty fair chance for rain and maybe some rumbles of thunder.  However, I suspect that the best chance for rain will be sometime before sunrise to just after midday so there will probably be insufficient heating to create much noise.  The rest of the week into the weekend look pretty quiet with highs in the low 60′s with mid 60′s perhaps by Friday.  It is this front that will pick up Hurricane Ida.

Hitler Could Have Been Killed Long Before WWII, But a Kind Heart Intervened September 28, 2009

Death and Destruction of WWII May Have Been Averted If For A Single Shot in World War I

Kirk Saves The Day But Misses Out on More Scenes with Joan Collins

On This Date in History:  Have you ever seen one of those Star Trek episodes that deals with time travel?  In one Kirk is in the 1920′s and if he knows a woman (Joan Collins) will be killed in a car accident and he has the ability to save her life. But Spock tells him that if he does save her, then all of history will be changed and that even the world that they know in the 23rd century would be altered, perhaps negavtively.  But Kirk is not the only one hot for Joan.  Bones has his eye on her and for once he gets a chance to be the hero in the show.   There is no way that Kirk is going to allow the writers to make McCoy the hero of any show so he  keeps the good doctor from saving the woman.  In the end, it’s Kirk who is the hero to millions…again.  Too bad he wasn’t around in 1918.

What Seemed So Right Turned Out So Wrong

British Private Henry Tandey was serving in the 5th Duke of Wellington Regiment near the French village of Marcoing.  On this date in 1918, toward the end of a battle, the Germans were in retreat and a wounded German soldier came into his line of fire.  Tandey later said he just couldn’t bring himself to shoot a wounded man.   The German soldier nodded in thanks for Tandey’s kindness and disappeared.  A photograph that appeared in London newspapers of Tandey carrying a wounded soldier at the the First Battle of Ypres in 1914 was later put on canvas by Italian artist Fortunino Matania that glorified the Allied war effort.  Move ahead a couple of decades.

In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain traveled to Germany to meet with German Chancellor Adolph Hitler as part of his effort to prevent another war.  Hitler took Chamberlain to his country retreat in Bavaria where he showed the British Prime Minister a copy of the painting by Matania.  Now, it was odd that Hitler would have such a painting because his motivation for building the Nazi party and gaining control of Germany was due to the humiliating defeat and armistice following World War I.  Some evidence suggests that Hitler did indeed have the copy of the painting as early as 1937.  Why would he have a painting that depicted the defeat over Germany?  When Hitler showed the painting to Chamberlain, he said, “That’s the man who nearly shot me.”

Had Tandy Not Been So Righteous, This Picture May Not Have Ever May Never Have Been Seen

Now, this tale cannot be totally verified and is generally chalked up as legend.  There is no way to actually prove that the man whose life Tandey spared in an act of compassion was really Hitler.  But, I think its safe to say that Hitler thought it was the case.  And if it was so, then think of how many millions of lives might have been saved and how history may have been altered if the man who confronted the young German soldier on the battlefield had been a mean, hard-ass soldier instead of one of humanity and compassion.  Had Hitler not lived, then there not only may not have been World War II, but also the rise of the Soviet Union may not have come about and then no Cold War.  Would the atomic bomb have become a reality?  Would the post war economic boom in the US taken place?  With no Soviet Union, then perhaps there would have been no drive to put a man on the moon.  Who knows.  It’s a kinda fun exercise to think of such things but largely not relevant and an exercise in futility.  It’s best to look forward because in our individual lives and our large-scale collective lives, we live in the world in which we are given left to play the hand which we are dealt.  Here is a full rendition of the story.

Louisville NWS Forecast Monday Night

Weather Bottom Line:  I’ve been telling you since last week that we may not see the 70′s for part of this week. Well, we’re not going to see the 70′s until Thursday.  And, I added that I wouldn’t be surprised to see some 30′s on Tuesday or Wednesday morning in the northern part of the viewing area.  We will probably be too windy overnight for 30′s on Tuesday morning as high pressure continues to settle in.  But, Wednesday morning the 30′s may go beyond just the northern fringes…how about the northern half?  Could very well shake out that way.  This little cool snap with the wet summer we’ve had and it may be setting the stage for a great fall color season….certainly I’d expect something better than the crappy colors we’ve seen the past two years.

Republican & Democratic Parties Abolished By Emperor of US August 12, 2009

NORTON I

$10 Currency Note Featuring Emperor Norton I

On This Date In History:The Democratic and Republican parties in the United States were abolished on this date in 1869 ” because of party strife now existing within our realm.”  One could probably make such a declaration today and perhaps you may think it’s a good idea.  However, at the time in 1869, the argument surrounded Reconstruction.

Joshua Norton was a commodities trader in San Francisco in the mid 19th Century. He apparently lost his memory when his attempt to corner the rice market blew up in is face and he lost everything. On Sept. 17, 1859  he decreed himself Emperor Norton I of the United States and Protector of Mexico. After news hit the papers, San Franciscans took a liking to his royal highness and a special chair was set aside for him at the state legislature. He ate for free at fine restaurants across the city.

The Emperor Liked his Bicycle

 When a man tried to have him committed, a judge dismissed the action citing Norton as “just about the best going in the king line.” On January 21, 1867 a police officer played the role of the little boy who said the emperor had no clothes.  He arrested the emperor on the grounds that he was running him in for involuntary treatment of a mental disorder.  But, unlike the fairy tale, the cop was over ruled by his superior.  After a major backlash from citizens of the city, Police Chief Patrick Crowley had his majesty released.  He apoligized to his Royal Highness and from that point forth, police officers saluted whenever they passed Norton I.

Somewhere in San Francisco, a monument in his honor was erected following his death in 1880.  Which of our 44 presidents do you think would be most likely to want to declare himself emperor?  Would you like to see the Democrat and Republican parties abolished?  Maybe old Norton I was on to something?

Weather Bottom Line:  The front will sag far enough South to keep any substantial rain chances out through the end of the week.  Temps will be in the upper 80′s. The tropics are becoming more active.  Still think that Tropical Depression 2 will become Tropical Storm Ana but I have a suspicion that it will eventually rotate into the Central Atlantic, but its a long way out so a lot can happen.  Hostile upper level winds have decreased a bit so there are 3 other disturbances out there,though nothing is immiment at this time.