Man Gets “Bionic Bottom”; America Gets the 1st Teddy Bear November 15, 2009

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.

The Teddy Bear Story, Cold Weather and People Living In Tents 2 Months After Hurricane Ike Worth More Attention than Snow Potential November 15, 2008

NAM: Mid to Upper 20's on Tuesday

This little “snow event” would be called a nuisance event at best were we in February. But, since it’s the first

NAM Snow Total thru 7AM Sun

time around, people take more interest. Jay’s been very good at being responsible, as usual, in that he has not been hyping this at all and giving it the proper analysis. The 00Z Saturday model runs are in and they continue to be pretty pessimistic on the snow. The NAM is the most bullish and it’s not too enthused. The extrapolated data puts out .06″ of precipition on Saturday night. But, in the 6 hour window between 7PM and 1AM, it goes from having the entire lower 1200 feet being above

GFS Snow Total Thru Sun AM

freezing and a surface temp of the upper 30′s to something below freezing at 1200 feet but still in the mid 30′s at the surface. If you generously assumed half of that as rain and then used an 8 to 1 ratio, then you get about a quarter inch of snow with surface temperatures above freezing and a ground above freezing. Even with those big assumptions you end up with a few flakes and thats about it. The GFS is less enthusiastic with much warmer conditions at all levels. Bottom line is keep the snow shovels in the garage. My sister-in-law likes to tell me what “it’s supposed to do” which means she heard it on the radio and assumes that everyone has the same forecast. She told me “it’s supposed to be a quarter inch.” That seems to be a stretch. You can see the less than favorability regarding snow from either model and the other models look similar. I suspect the bigger story for the next several days into next week will be the decidedly colder air. I changed my air filter today on my heating unit.

Hurricane Ike Update: You don’t hear anything about Hurricane Ike victims on the national scene but the

Lawn Decoration Courtesy of Ike Remains Two Months After Storm

estimate remains that Ike will be the 3rd costliest Hurricane in US history and hundreds remain missing. Here is a story that indicates that many people are not just living in FEMA trailers, some remain in tents 2 months after the storm. Read it HERE. Now ask yourself where the national press corps is on this story except for this lone AP reporter. Also, there is one town, Shore Acres. It is not even in Galveston County…it’s in Southeastern Harris County which is the county that is dominated by Houston. 88% of the homes there were flooded and half the people have not returned. Much of the area looks as it did the day after the storm. Here’s the story from the Houston Chronicle.

On This Date in History: President Theodore Roosevelt was an avid outdoorsman. He lived and traveled

Original Teddy Bear With a Bow

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.