Over a Barrel

Annie Edson Taylor,on her 43rd birthday, October 24,1901 became the first person to survive a trip over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Annie had worked as a schoolteacher and after losing a child in infancy and her husband during the Civil War,worked a variety of jobs in different locations. Wanting to avoid the poorhouse,and wishing for financial security for her later years she planned her stunt. She had a barrel custom made of oak and iron and padded with a mattress. Two days before her own attempt a domestic cat was sent over to test the barrel's strength,the cat survived unharmed. On her birthday she climbed from a rowboat into the barrel with her lucky heart shaped pillow. After screwing down the lid a bicycle tire pump was used to compress air in the barrel,the hole was then plugged with a cork. The trip itself took less than 20 minutes and Taylor was alive and uninjured,other than a small gash on her head.
The feat didn't bring the financial security she had hoped for and her manager,Frank M. Russel absconded with her barrel and she spent most of her savings paying private detectives to find him.
I enjoy roller coasters and most thrill rides,but count me out on this one! For one thing I am claustrophobic so I would probably claw my way out of the barrel and be on my own going over the falls!

Fresh or Frozen?

This weekend marked the 30th annual Crab,Seafood and Wine Festival. It started out as the Crab Festival but the name was added to as local wine and beer became the more popular part of the event. It also features several musical acts that vary in type. I haven't been since the 80's,it is way too crowded for me,I don't enjoy being packed in tight like sardines whether for a seafood festival or not. I also prefer my crab and shellfish during the cooler months when it is at its peak. They claim the crab is fresh caught,but I have serious doubts about that claim. Firstly the end of the season is near and I can't see the crabbers bringing in enough crab to supply the event,secondly many of the crab boats have already changed their boats gear so the fleet is too small at this time of year for that amount of product. The festival is one of the most popular Oregon events and is the first of many local festivals that fun throughout the summer and into the fall.

Crossword Question

Maybe someone out there can help me out with this one,but remember in order for your comments to reach me you have to first become a follower of my blog,otherwise any comments you offer just go off into the ether, never to be read by anyone.

Since I have been retired I don't know what to call a vacation,the dictionary describes a vacation as time away from work or study for the purpose of rest and relaxation. That just doesn't work for me anymore,and not that I am complaining but it is actually harder to travel to somewhere than it is to just stay home,not only do I have to pack my things up but I have to corral the cats and take them to the kennel and drive off to wherever I am going,then when I am done with my time away I have to reverse the process when I return. I have looked through a crossword dictionary and the Thesaurus and will now list the ones I have ruled out and the ones that remain on the possible list.

The ones that have been ruled out include: rest (I get enough rest at home),recess (sounds like grammar school),leave (too military sounding),holiday (makes me think of Christmas),relaxation (same deal as rest),shut up shop(again,no shop to shut),take time out (from what?). Okay,now for the possibles: out (short and to the point),outing,nowhere to be found,away from home (a little obvious) and last but not least is respite. If I am missing a better word please feel free to offer it, I only want to not have to call it vacation as it simply doesn't fit anymore.

Lazy?

I don't consider myself an excessively lazy person,but I have never enjoyed vacuuming. My vacuum seems to have bitten its last dust which happens on a regular basis,I have long hair and long hair and vacuums are not a good combination. This last one I had high hopes for as it claimed it had a lifetime belt...of course it never specified whose lifetime. That is usually where the problem starts is the hair cuts nicks into the belt and from there it is all downhill. Cleaning the hair out on a regular basis doesn't seem to solve the problem either.
Now here is what I want to know,why can't there be a riding vacuum? I know they have big ones for industrial purposes,but why not for household use?? Everyone would want to vacuum then,I am sure even the men of the household would take a turn if it was a riding vacuum. It is the same principle as a riding lawnmower so I don't see why it hasn't been made...maybe if more men had to do the vacuuming there would be riding vacuums available wherever appliances are sold! Speaking of appliances,I always like to say that word differently so it sounds French,it would sound something like opt-lee-ance.

Singing or Screaming?

No,this isn't about music,well not exactly anyway. Every year, this time of year I notice the birds in the morning around 5 or so depending on how light it is from cloud cover and all the other variables,and while most people would say they are singing if you listen it doesn't sound anything at all like singing. What it sounds like to me is they woke up with a start and are screeching at each other...I imagine the dialogue would go something like this... "What the #@!$% one of us was supposed to stay awake to make sure nothing got us!! We are lucky to be alive!! Family meeting!!! This can't happen again!! It is entirely possible that it is another case of my overactive imagination,but compared to the sounds birds make the rest of the day and especially the evening songs that they sing,I think their tunes back me up on this one.
Anyone else with me on this?
 Just so you can go away with a little knowledge today,song birds are from a diverse group known as passerines or passeriformes.

Ages

I have never been a big fan of magazines but after hearing something a few days ago I started wondering how long some of these publications had been around. I pretty much just scratched the surface,but I did find the one that had originally drawn my attention when it's age was mentioned.
The first English language magazine was Review. It was published in London in 1704,the publisher was Daniel Defoe author of Robinson Crusoe.
It wasn't until 1741 that magazines were tried in America. Benjamin Franklin and Andrew Bradford both made efforts but neither lasted long. The failures were due to literacy rather than content.
In 1825,there were less than 100 magazines,that number swelled to 600 by 1850,and magazines were established as mass medium. As more people learned to read the popularity of magazines increased until in 1900 there were more than 5,000 magazines in the U.S.
The first successful magazine in the United States was the Saturday Evening Post,first published in 1821. It lasted until 1969 and then the publication became sporadic. The National Geographic Society was founded in 1888,the magazine was first published nine months later as the Society's official journal and went public in 1899. Life magazine is credited for establishing photojournalism. The first issue was published in November 1936.

Brushing Up

Early forms of the toothbrush have been around since 3000 BC. Ancient civilizations used a chew stick which was a thin twig with a frayed end and was used by rubbing it against the teeth. Jean Auel wrote about twigs being used in her "Clan of the Cave Bear" Earth's Children series and if I remember correctly these were best if they were from a particular tree.
The bristle toothbrush wasn't invented until 1498 in China. The bristles were the stiff,coarse hairs taken from the back of a hog's neck and attached to handles made of bone or bamboo. This type of bristle was eventually replaced when nylon bristles were introduced in 1938. Americans were not serious about oral hygiene until soldiers returning from World War II brought the habit home with them.


Horsehair toothbrush said to have been used by Napoleon



Nothing to Sneeze at

Last night I woke up and promptly sneezed,which made me wonder if I woke up to sneeze or if I had sneezed and it woke me up.
As it turns out,you can't sneeze when you're asleep as the sneezing nerves are also asleep.
There are many reasons for sneezing,but they aren't neccesarily the same from person to person. The nervous system is pretty much the same for everyone,but the signals take different paths to and from the brain,so when one persons nerve might tell them to sneeze it might not send the same signal in another person.
Sneezing is an important part of the immune system,it clears your nose of bacteria and viruses.
Exercise can make you sneeze,you hyperventilate when you over-exert and in turn your nose and mouth dry up making you sneeze. Bright light can cause people to sneeze,these are called photic sneezers (I belong to this catergory).
The iguana holds the title of the sneeziest animal,they sneeze to rid their bodies of certain salts that are a byproduct of their digestive system.
Sneezes travel at about 100 miles per hour,and can send 100,000 germs into the air. Too bad the power of a sneeze couldn't be harvested for some other use!

In a Jiffy

I thought I knew what the phrase in a jiffy meant until I got it wrong on a trivia quiz that a friend sent to me (the correct answer was 0.2 seconds).
Though the origin of the term jiffy is unknown,it is thought to have first been used in England during the 1700's and referred to a brief but indeterminate time. In some contexts it is used as a put off,maybe now,maybe never,but wait,there's more!
In scientific applications it can refer to any of several specific time spans. The most common is 0.01 second. In computer engineering the length of time between a clock cycle is sometimes called a jiffy,in a computer with a 2-gigahertz microprocessor the jiffy is 0.5 nanosecond.
The length of time required for one alternating current (AC) power cycle is called a jiffy,in the US this is 1/60 second,in other countries 1/50 second. Confused yet? A jiffy can also be 0.001 second. A jiffy corresponds to the length of time required for a beam of light to travel one foot in free space,approximately 1 nanosecond.
Just in case you aren't thoroughly confused it is also the name of cake and muffins mixes,not to mention Jiffy Lube (a car service center) and if we want to include nicknames there is always Jif peanut butter!
I don't know about everyone else,but I am going to think twice before I say "in a jiffy"again.

To The Late-Comers

Grab your favorite beverage and prepare to toast! The first thing I would like to do today is thank all the regular readers of this blog,and secondly it is my pleasure to announce that as of yesterday there are now readers on 6 continents! I am tempted to say all the continents,but the truth of the matter is there are no readers from Antartica,but who knows? that could change any day.
The population on Antartica is very limited,the number of year-round residents is about 1,000,but can increase to 5,000 during the summer months,which are January to March. There is also a growing number of expedition tourists that visit by sea. There are no natives in Antartica,only scientists and people who work in support of research. Military members are stationed there at weather stations,but the majority of residents are employed by governments or international agencies.
Antartica is the fifth largest continent in area and is nearly twice the size of Australia (which for those of you who were wondering, Australia was the hold outs that were last to join us at this blog!) I visited Australia 10 years ago this January and other than the flight (very LONG) I loved it.
I will end today's post with a dedication to my deceased friend Linda,she died too soon and too young to share this milestone event with us all.

3rd Rock

Maybe I should have waited until Earth Day (April 22) to post this blog,but oh well here it is a couple of days early.
Am I the only one who has ever wondered why Earth is the only planet not named for a Roman god or goddess? Even most of the moons and some asteroids are named for Roman creatures,and gods and goddesses.
Mercury-Roman Winged Messenger,winged god of travel because he moves so fast.
Venus-Roman Goddess of Love
Earth-see below
Mars-Roman God of War
Jupiter-Chief Roman God
Saturn-Former Roman God of Agriculture,retired. Replaced by his daughter,Ceres.
Uranus-Former Roman God of the Sky,retired. Replaced by grandson Jupiter.
Neptune-Roman Lord of the Sea.
Pluto-Roman Lord of the Underworld.
Our planet,the only one in our solar system known to support life,is simply named for the ground!
Today's bonus a mnemonic for the 8 planets: My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Nachos.

Pig in a Poke

I am not sure where I am going with this today as it really isn't anything new for those of you that keep up on pop culture. Most people know that George Clooney had a pot bellied pig as a pet and gave him credit for saving his life,waking him up before the Northridge earthquake on January 6,1994...and probably that Max,the same pot bellied pig died on December 1,2006.
What I didn't know was that pot bellied pigs got big enough to weigh 300 pounds,I was under the illusion that they stayed fairly small. Here is where it gets really silly...fans after hearing of Max's death sent George six pot bellied pigs to replace him! Firstly George didn't want to replace him,after 19 years of living with him it would be a hard thing to do,and never mind that most people prefer to pick out there own pets. George being kind hearted managed to find good homes for the six pigs which is no easy task as not everyone wants a pig for a pet,nor has a good place to keep one. I guess this is a prime example of "it's the thought that counts"? Or maybe not thinking?
 

Down the Rabbit Hole

I heard about this for the first time today,things just get curiouser and curiouser.
Alice in Wonderland Syndrome (AIWS or AWS, also known as Todd's Syndrome) the most famous symptoms are: Alteration of body image,parts of the body are perceived incorrectly. Alteration of visual perception,the sizes of external objects are perceived incorrectly. The symptoms of AIWS are fairly common in childhood,with many people outgrowing them in their teens,though it is not unheard of in adults. AIWS is also thought to be a rare form of migraine. Rest is the most common treatment.

Weird Weapon

I know I come up with plenty of odd ideas,but when I heard about this one I had to share it. Though it seems almost funny when viewed from today's technology,for that time at least,it was thinking outside the box.
The Great Panjandrum was a massive,rocket propelled,explosive laden cart designed by the British Military during World War II. There were several experimental projects developed in the final years of the war. The Panjandrum was never used in battle.
What was needed was a device capable of penetrating the 10 foot high 7 foot thick concrete that made up part of the Atlantic Wall. Today any number of remote control objects could accomplish this task without needlessly endangering human lives. The device they built for the project had two 10 foot in diameter wooden wheels with steel treads a foot wide,joined by a central drum fitted with explosives. It was to be propelled by sets of cordite rockets attached to each wheel. When tested a number of the rockets failed and the weapon careened off course. After several attempts to correct the problem the project was eventually scrapped over safety concerns.

Panjandrum also means an important or self important person and is the name of a rock band from Houston,Texas!

The Sea Without a Coast

The Sargasso Sea is a region in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean surrounded by ocean currents. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream; on the north by the North Atlantic Current; on the east by the Canary Current;on the south by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current. This system of currents forms the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. All the currents deposit the marine plants and garbage they carry into this sea.
The Sargasso is the only sea without shores. The ocean water in the Sargasso Sea is distinctive for its deep blue color and exceptional clarity,with underwater visibility up to 200 feet.
The Sargasso is home to Sargassum,a genus of seaweed that floats on the surface there. The Sargasso also plays a role in the migration of the European and American eel. The larvae of both species hatch there,then return to their respective shores. It is also believed that young Loggerhead Sea Turtles use currents such as the Gulf Stream to travel there,where they use the Sargassum as cover from their predators until they mature.


The Sargasso Sea,shown with Sargassum seaweed afloat.



Old Wive's Tale?

I have heard of this over the years and more recently kept running across this fun fact on one of my trivia games and couldn't help but wonder at the validity of the fact,so I did some checking and sure enough it is the truth.
The frequency of crickets chirping varies according to the temperature. To get an estimate of the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit count the number of chirps in 15 seconds then add 37,for Celsius it is a little trickier count the number of chirps in 25 seconds,divide by 3 then add 4,the number you get is the approximate temperature.
There are several reasons why crickets chirp,they may be: a. calling to attract a female b. an aggressive encounter of two males or c. sounding a danger alert. It is usually the males you hear. He rubs a sharp ridge on his wing against a series of wrinkles on the other wing. The tone depends on the distance between the wrinkles.

Oregon Icon

Today marks the 50th birthday of an Oregon celebrity,Packy the Asian elephant was born to parents Thonglaw and Belle,April 14,1962. The first few weeks of his life he was known as Fuzzy Face until a naming contest came up with Packy (a play on pachyderm).
Packy was the first elephant born in the Western Hemisphere in 44 years,and his birth marked a turning point for captive elephant breeding programs. Twenty eight calves have been born at the Oregon Zoo since 1962,Packy has sired seven calves.
Packy has been a favorite at the zoo for decades,he is the largest Asian elephant in the U.S.-10 feet 6 inches tall and about 13,500 pounds,at birth he weighed a mere 225 pounds. He is also the oldest male Asian elephant in North America at this time.

Bear Conflict

The most widely told story on the origin of the stuffed bears that are known as Teddy Bears is the one that relates to President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1902 Roosevelt was on a hunting trip to Mississippi with several other hunters and most of them had already killed an animal. Roosevelt's attendants cornered,clubbed and tied a Black Bear to a willow tree. They called Roosevelt to the site suggesting that he shoot the bear,but he refused saying it was unsportsmanlike. The Washington Post made a political cartoon of his refusal that ran on November 16,1902. Morris Michtom saw the cartoon and was inspired to create a new toy. He sent a stuffed bear to Roosevelt and received permission to use his name and began displaying the bears in his shop window with a sign that read "Teddy's Bear". The toys were an immediate success and Michtom founded the Ideal Novelty and Toy Co.
Around the same time in Germany Richard Steiff produced a stuffed bear which was exhibited at the Leipzig Toy Fair in March 1903,his version was called "55PB". Although Steiff and Michtom were making the bears around the same time neither knew of the other's creation due to poor transatlantic communication. It remains unknown which of the two produced the first stuffed bear.
Happy Friday the 13th!


55PB 



Bearing Most of It

I could have sworn that I wrote a blog a while back about how silly the phrase sleeping like a baby was (who wants to wake up with wet pants several times a night,and or hungry) but I went back through my blogs and didn't find it. Who knows? Maybe I dreamt it,I have dreamt stranger things in my time.
I was going to reference that blog partly to explain today's blog as what I thought I had said was I would rather sleep like a bear than a baby,you just sleep straight through the whole winter,no need to eat or go to the bathroom and for the bonus you wake up and it is spring! It seems as though I was on to something. Scientist have studied hibernation in hopes to apply it to humans for deep space travel. One of the amazing things about bears hibernating is that when the bear wakes up it is not in the least bit atrophied from it's long sleep. Humans would lose bone density and mass and never mind loss of  muscle tone. It would also be beneficial in the medical field for some injuries that require more sleeping time to allow the patients time to heal.

Name That Weapon!

Time for another jaunt down my personal,perpetual path of weirdness. I have always had a propensity for naming things,not just the normal things people name like pets and children,I take it several levels above that. I've always named my vehicles,which doesn't seem too unusual,but I also name pieces of art I have collected (paintings,a carving,and a statue),my computers and several plants. I even named a small school of Neon Tetras that I had,though admittedly since I couldn't tell them apart because they were always moving and pretty much looked alike,so their names were Chain,Chain,Chain,Chain of Fools. Oddly enough I never named my handgun,I seem to have missed a trick there.
We all know that King Arthur's sword was Excalibur,but did you know it's original name was Caliburn? How about King Arthur's knife/dagger? Camwennan. His shield? Wynebgwrthucher. I saved the best for last as for some reason it cracks me up... King Arthur's spear/lance...Ron!
I feel duty bound to end today's blog with a honorable mention to Mack the Knife!

Surfing Snails

The violet snail spends its entire life drifting on the surface of warm seas on a bubble raft of its own making. They feed mainly on jellyfish. It starts life as a male and becomes a female over time. Its shell is an inch to inch and a half (3-4 cm) in size and is light and fragile,it is dark purple at the widest part fading to light purple at the narrow top.
The males release their sperm into a case that drifts to a female where the sperm fertilizes the eggs. The eggs develop internally and are born live,the tiny snails are immediately able to build their own rafts. They use their feet to agitate the water and create bubbles which they bind together with mucus. If the raft ever breaks apart the snail will sink into the ocean and die.

The Better Amazon

The best place in South America to see wildlife is not the Amazon but the Pantanal. Unlike the Amazon where the dense foliage makes the creatures hard to see the Pantanal is a wetland. In the wet season the area becomes one vast lake so the animals gather on the remaining dry areas. In the dry season everything is drawn to the remaining waterholes.
The Pantanal ecosystem is thought to be home to 1000 bird species,400 fish species,300 mammalian species and over 9000 subspecies of invertebrates. Among the rarest animals to inhabit the wetland are the marsh deer and giant river otter. The Pantanal is also home to endangered species: the hyacinth macaw,the crowned solitary eagle,the maned wolf,the bush dog,the South American tapir,the giant anteater and the yacare caiman. The Pantanal is also home to one of the largest jaguar populations on Earth.

hyacinth macaws



giant anteater



The Future and the Past

I have been wondering for the last few weeks about the future of literature. All of the changes that have been happening so rapidly over the last several years makes it seem like some books will be so incorrect that they will lose their credibility. Then I look at the other side of that thought and realize that shouldn't happen since a lot of the classics are outdated for our present time and yet still offer enjoyable reading. It is all a matter of suspending your disbelief. That same thought leads me to think about if the youth of today spend much time reading or if it is just done when it has to be done instead of for pleasure? I don't have much contact with kids of any age so I really don't know what they consider recreation,but at a glance it looks like they are more into instant gratification than spending time with a book for a rewarding experience. The only thing that gives me hope for continued reading is that since the beginning of time people have always enjoyed a story,whether written word,spoken word or acted out as a play or movie. With any luck that will continue to be the case,what a loss it would be without stories in the world.

Nature vs Man-Made

The Old Man of the Mountain was a series of five granite cliff ledges on Cannon Mountain in New Hampshire,USA. The rock formation measured 40 feet tall and 25 feet wide. The first mention of the Old Man was 1805. It collapsed on May 3,2003. The formation was carved by glaciers,and thought to be 2,000 to 10,000 years old. Freezing and thawing opened fissures and attempted repairs began in the 1920's,but nature eventually defeated mans attempts. A sad loss for New Hampshire.
Mount Rushmore is a sculpture carved into the granite face of Mount Rushmore in South Dakota,USA. Mount Rushmore features 60 foot heads of former US presidents George Washington,Thomas Jefferson,Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln,sculpted by Gutzon Borglum a Danish-American and his son Lincoln Borglum. Construction began in 1927,and was completed between 1934-1939. Initially the presidents were to be depicted from head to waist,but lack of funding forced construction to end.
I can't help but wonder if the days are numbered for this national monument as they were for the Old Man of the Mountain.

Elvis is in the Building

We all know that "The King" has been a major influence in music. The reason for today's blog is that I discovered a tidbit in a book by Tim Dorsey. His writing is always wild and mostly features Serge Storms as the main character,but he also includes bits of history on Florida where his books are set.
Tom Petty met Elvis Presly in 1962 on the set of "Follow that Dream"in Ocala FL. Petty's uncle Earl Jernigan owned a film developing business and worked on location shoots when films were being made in the area. After his meeting Elvis he traded in his slingshot for 45RPM records which he listened to the rest of the summer. At the age of 11 Petty began playing the guitar and the rest as they say is history.

Bite Worse Than Their Bark?

According to African myth,Basenjis can't bark because Rukuba (the dog) stole fire for Nkhango (the man) and the Fire God took away the basenji's ablility to bark.
Known as the barkless dog from Africa,Basenjis are not silent. Their sounds range from a yodel to a scream as well as the usual growls,whimpers and whines made by all dogs. The reason for the lack of bark is due to an unusually shaped larynx. One theory on how the basenji became barkless is the result of selective killing of the barking dogs so that the sound would not lead enemies to their camps. The basenji is thought to be the most ancient dog breed. Dogs resembling basenjis can be seen in the tombs of Egyptian pharoahs.

Baths

A Bath Oliver is a hard dry cracker made from flour,butter,yeast and milk. It was invented around 1750 by Dr. William Oliver of Bath,Somerset and given it's name from the inventors.

Countess Elizabeth Bathory (August 7,1560-August 21,1614) was of Hungarian nobility. Also known as the "Blood Countess" she has been labeled the most prolific female serial killer in history,though her guilt is debated.
After her husbands death she and four of her servants were accused of torturing and killing hundreds of girls,one source attributing over 650 victims to them,though the number they were convicted for was 80.
Later writings have led to accounts of the Countess bathing in the blood of virgins to retain her youth and also to comparisons with Vlad III the Impaler on whom the fictional Count Dracula is partly based.
Kind of takes vanity to a new level,and gives a whole new meaning the the phrase Blood Bath! Blood Bath incidentally is also the name of a 1966 horror film and a Swedish death metal band.

Day In and Day Out

The most recognized holiday for this April will of course be Easter,with April Fools Day coming in at 2nd place (excluding the other Easter related days). The occasions you may not know about is what I am going  introduce you to today. They are nothing to serious and mostly for fun.
The first week in April is Be Kind to Spiders Week and also Publicity Stunt Week. April 3= Don't Go to Work Unless it's Fun Day
April 4th= World Rat Day
April 7th= No Housework Day (my personal favorite)
April 11th=International Louie Louie Day
April 12th= Look Up at the Sky Day
April 14th=Ex Spouse Day
April 15th=That Sucks Day
April 16th=High Five Day
April 17th=Blah Blah Blah Day
April 19th=Hanging Out Day
April 22nd=National Jelly Bean Day
April 23rd=International Nose Picking Day
April 24th=Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day
April 25th=National Pet Parent's Day
April 27th=Morse Code Day
Finishing out the month on the 30th are two=National Hairball Awareness Day and National Honesty Day.
Celebrate in good taste!

Seeing Dead People

Before you count me among the crazies,let me say it isn't quite what it sounds like. I think it may be a trick a person's mind plays on them,a way of remembering someone you have lost?
The first time I experienced seeing someone I knew was deceased I was grocery shopping,in the produce area if I recall correctly and I froze in place and if someone were to have told me my mouth was agape I would not have been surprised. The woman I thought I was seeing had died about 2 years before this happened and the person I was seeing was a "dead ringer",if you will excuse the pun. She even had the same mannerisms and body language,the physical looks were amazingly like those of the deceased friend. I had to mentally shake myself to quit staring.
The next time I noted this strange phenomena was last week and this time I was walking downtown and a man driving by in a pickup looked just like another friend that died around 5 years ago,same thick glasses,baseball cap,jacket and the way he had his hand on the steering wheel was all just the same. It is an eerie feeling to say the least,but nice in that it brings back pleasant memories of those that have passed on before me.
If anyone else has had this type of experience I would love to hear about it. First of all it would put me more at ease about it and secondly it is interesting once you get past the initial shock.

April Fools

Last night I nodded out watching TV. I woke up to the end of a news cast where the announcer said that the Devil's Spout (or Punchbowl ) in Depoe Bay,OR. was going to be filled in with cement today. First thing I thought was how sad,then as I woke up a bit more I thought now wait a minute,#1 how can that be done to a state park? #2 Even if it was done at low tide the cement would never have time to setup before the next high tide came and blasted it all out of there. #3 What would be the point in destroying a natural phenomena that is also a tourist attraction? I turned off the tube and went back to sleep determined to look into it further in the light of day. After many attempts at finding any reference to this faux pas on the stations website I decided that either someone had pranked them for April Fool's Day a little early and they went ahead and put it on the air without verifying the story,or it was the news team's attempt at an April Fool's joke. The latter seems like it might be a bit detrimental to their credibility,but what do I know?