Some things just make no sense at all.....

Some things just make no sense at all..



Woman stabbed to death in St. Louis

By Kim Bell

ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCHST. LOUIS --



A woman who had a restraining order against her husband was stabbed to death by him as they rode in a car together Sunday in St. Louis, police say.



The victim has been identified as Paula Jo Jones, 33, of St. Louis.



Police arrested her husband, 48, and recovered a knife.



Jones, of the 6000 block of Garfield Avenue, was stabbed several times in the abdomen and neck.Police found her in her car at the intersection of Page and Skinker boulevards about 5:35 p.m. Sunday. She died at the scene.



Police say her husband, whose name was not released, has been taken into custody.



Investigators found that the couple had been riding together in a car when the husband began stabbing Jones.On March 19, Jones had obtained a temporary restraining order of protection against the man in St. Charles County.



Now I ask you if you had a restraining order out for a certain person, why would you go and ride in the same car with them ????



http://www.stltoday.com/

Eerie Figure Haunts Scottish Castle

The figure peers down silently from an upper floor of the ruins of a Scottish castle, wearing what looks like an outfit from the Middle Ages. Could this be a long-dead Scottish earl, or just a random, modern-day visitor?

The eerie image is captured in a photograph taken by tourist Christopher Aitchison in May 2008 at Tantallon Castle, which sits on a rocky outcrop along the Scottish coast, east of Edinburgh. The "person" appears to be wearing an old-style greenish ruff around the neck.

Aitchison insists he did not tamper with the image and cannot explain it.
"I was not aware of anyone, or anything, being present in my picture, only noticing the anomaly when I got home," Aitchison said. "Staff have verified that there were no sinister dummies in period costume or historical reenactments going on that day at the castle. I did not notice any nice old ladies wearing ruffs walking around the stairs!"
The picture was made public Friday by Richard Wiseman, a professor of psychology at the University of Hertfordshire who also studies the paranormal. Wiseman said he was looking for "photographic evidence for ghosts" ahead of a session on the subject at the Edinburgh International Science Festival next week.

Tantallon Castle was built in the 1350s by a nobleman and soon became the stronghold of the Douglas dynasty. For 300 years, the Douglas earls of Angus held sway at the castle as one of the most powerful families in Scotland, according to Historic Scotland, which looks after historic sites for the Scottish government.
The castle also was the scene of violence, enduring three great sieges: in 1491, 1528 and 1651. The last, by Oliver Cromwell's army, resulted in such destruction that the fortress was abandoned.
It remains the "last truly great castle" built in Scotland, with enormously thick and high stone walls enclosing large courtyards, and high stone towers.
That stonework could explain the mysterious figure in the photograph, having caused unusual shadows. It is also possible that a member of the public was standing there when the picture was taken, Wiseman said -- in which case, he hopes they will come forward.
"I think it's probably a person who's been caught in slightly odd dress," Wiseman told CNN. "We know the day it was taken ... so somebody might come forward to say, 'That was me.'"

Homeless

It’s just so tragic and sad. All these poor homeless people with no one to depend on for the next meal but government handouts provided by taxpayers.

Here is Michelle Obama doing her part at a soup kitchen in Washington D.C. last Thursday. She brought with her food donated by the White House Staff. The first lady served up mushroom risotto and broccoli to a long line of destitute homeless men and women. She stopped here to pose for a picture from this poor unfortunate. This photo got national media attention.

Wonder why the media didn’t ask two bothersome journalistic questions. If this unidentified meal recipient is too poor to buy his own food, how does he afford a cell phone/camera? And if he truly is “homeless” where on earth do they send the cell phone bills?

Snow

March 29th and we woke up to snow this morning... Will Spring ever get here ??

Lights out in 84 countries for Earth Hour 2009

The lights are going down from the Great Pyramids to the Acropolis, the Eiffel Tower to Sears Tower, as more than 2,800 municipalities in 84 countries plan Saturday to mark the second worldwide Earth Hour.
McDonald's will even soften the yellow glow from some Golden Arches as part of the time zone-by-time zone plan to dim nonessential lights between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. to highlight global climate change.
"Earth Hour makes a powerful statement that the world is going to solve this problem," said Carter Roberts, chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund, which sponsors Earth Hour. "Everyone is realizing the enormous effect that climate change will have on them."
Seven times more municipalities have signed on since last year's Earth Hour, which drew participation from 400 cities after Sydney, Australia held a solo event in 2007. Interest has spiked ahead of planned negotiations on a new global warming treaty in Copenhagen, Denmark this December. The last global accord, the Kyoto Protocol, is set to expire in 2012.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon encouraged the convention to reach a fair and effective climate change agreement and promoted Earth Hour participation in a video posted this month on the event's YouTube channel.
"Earth Hour is a way for the citizens of the world to send a clear message," Ban said. "They want action on climate change."
Other videos have been posted by celebrities such as rocker Pete Wentz and actor Kevin Bacon and WWF has offered Earth Hour iPhone applications. Search engine Yahoo! says there's been a 344 percent increase in "Earth Hour" searches this February and March compared with last year.
New studies increasingly highlight the ongoing effects of climate change, said Richard Moss, a member of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and WWF's climate change vice president.
"We have satellites and we have ships out at sea and we have monitoring stations set up on buoys in the ocean," Moss said. "We monitor all kinds of things people wouldn't even think about. The scientific research is showing in all kinds of ways that the climate crisis is worsening."
But not everyone agrees and at least one counter-protest is planned for Saturday.
Suburban Philadelphia ice cream shop owner Bob Gerenser, 56, believes global warming is based on faulty science and calls Earth Hour "nonsense."
The resident of New Hope, Pa., and owner of Gerenser's Exotic Ice Cream planned to illuminate his store with extra theatrical lighting.
"I'm going to get everyone I know in my neighborhood to turn on every light they possibly can to waste as much electricity as possible to underline the absurdity of this action ... by being absurd," he said.
Earth Hour 2009 has garnered support from global corporations, nonprofit groups, schools, scientists and celebrities — including Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
McDonald's Corp. plans to dim its arches at 500 locations around the Midwest. The Marriott, Ritz-Carlton and Fairmont hotel chains and Coca-Cola Co. also plan to participate.
Nearly 200 U.S. cities, towns and villages have signed on, from New York City — which will darken the iconic Empire State Building and Broadway marquees — to Igiugig, population 53 on Iliamna Lake in southwestern Alaska.
Among the efforts in Chicago, 50,000 light bulbs at tourist hotspot Navy Pier will dim and 24 spotlights that shine on Sears Tower's twin spires will go dark.
"We're the most visible building in the city," said Angela Burnett, a Sears Tower property manager. "Turning off the lights for one hour on a Saturday night shows our commitment to sustainability."
The Commonwealth Edison utility said electricity demand fell by 5 percent in Chicago and northern Illinois during last year's Earth Hour, reducing about 840,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
"It goes way beyond turning off the lights," said Roberts of the WWF. "The message we want people to take away is that it is within our power to solve this problem. People can take positive constructive actions."

Dispute between neighbors

A town councillor in Wales, Mark Easton, had a beautiful view of the mountains, until a new neighbour purchased the land below his house and built a new home.

The new home was 18 inches higher than the planning dept had approved, so Mark Easton, mad about his lost view, went to the local authority to make sure they enforced the roof line height.
The new neighbour had to drop the roof height, at great expense.Recently, Mark Easton called the planning dept, and informed them that his new neighbour had installed some vents on the side of his new property.Mark didn't like the look of these vents and asked the planning dept to investigate.When they went to Mark's home to see what the vents looked like, this is what they found...
The Local Authority said the vents can stay since there is no planning law referring to shutter design.

Ice Cream Truck...Already ??

Yes the Ice Cream Truck is making it's rounds already. Actually it has been making it's rounds for a few weeks now, just the first opportunity that I have had to get a pic of it...
Not only does the stores jump the gun on the holidays, the Ice Cream Truck jumps the gun on Summer months...
*Note*...The yard is full again of Gum Balls that are going to have to be raked up....AGAIN !!
Ah... the ups and downs of Springtime...LOL

Microsoft and GM

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on.

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX),Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, 'If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.'

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating:

If GM had developed technology likeMicrosoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics (and I just love this part):

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash........Twice a day.

2.. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single 'This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation' warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine off

PS - I'd like to add that when all else fails, you could call 'customer service' in some foreign country and be instructed in some foreign language how to fix your car yourself!!!!

flying car....

If this video won't play Here is the link to it...

Can't help myself......LOL

I saw this and just cracked up laughing...I work in a Hospital here in Saint Louis and a paramedic was telling me just last week about the only time he almost dropped his end of the stretcher.. He strained his back but saved the patient from falling... Just my warped sense of humor....hahahahahaha

An Irish Blonde in a Casino...Happy St. Paddy's Day

An attractive blonde from Cork , Ireland arrived at the casino. She seemed a little intoxicated and bet twenty-thousand Euros on a single roll of the dice. She said, 'I hope you don't mind, but I feel much luckier when I'm completely nude'. With that, she stripped from the neck down, rolled the dice and with an Irish brogue yelled, 'Come on, baby, Mama needs new clothes!' As the dice came to a stop, she jumped up and down and squealed...'YES! YES! I WON, I WON!' She hugged each of the dealers and then picked up her winnings and her clothes and quickly departed. The dealers stared at each other dumbfounded. Finally, one of them asked, 'What did she roll?' The other answered, 'I don't know - I thought you were watching.'
MORAL OF THE STORY - Not all Irish are drunks, not all blondes are dumb, but all men...are men.

Lighting the fires of hope

Lighting the fires of hope

If you get a chance please visit "Erasing the Board" by Suzen

She has a wonderful blog on Lighting the fires of Hope.

Mail Pouch Tobacco Barns

The six original Mail Pouch barn painters all lined up for a picture in 1925. If you were to travel some of the U,S, routes throughout the Northeastern part of these United States, such as New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois, or West Virginia, you will probably see some remains of a now forgotten art of outdoor advertising by way of the Mail Pouch Tobacco barn signs.
This all started back in 1925 in Syracuse, New York, when six men, 2 per truck, started their "barnstorming" painting: of Mail Pouch signs on barns. The trucks were Ford model T's with side curtains.
The original six man crew included: Bill Hart, Bill Bucks, Kenneth Walkerman, Carl Wunelle, and Maurice Zimmerman. Mr. Zimmerman, affectionately called "Zim" by family and friends, is the only living member of the original crew. He is the one who tells this story of barn advertising signs.
Zim was 18 when he graduated from high school near Washington Ct. House, Ohio, in 1924. His brother, Walter, was an executive with the YMCA, then living in Youngstown, Ohio. He urged him to come to Youngstown to find a job. He became interested in sign painting and went to night school at the YMCA and worked during the day as an apprentice in a sign studio.
In August of 1925, Maurice traveled to Syracuse where he met the contractor for the sign work which was hired by the Bloch Brothers Tobacco Co. in Wheeling, W,Va., where they manufactured Mail Pouch chewing tobacco. The money paid to the contractor to do barn signs was from funds the Company allotted for Advertising. From Syracuse they traveled west on main highways, the U,S. and state highways. They looked for barns to paint their signs on.

Harley Warrick.....(The last Mail Pouch barn painter)

Log Barns

These two barns may be among the only log barns left in Iowa. It is believed the large barn was built in 1868. Orville Nelson owned these primitive barns for years.

Saint Louis Archway

Eero Saarinen United States Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis, Missouri, under construction, 1965 From the Collections of Arteaga Photos Ltd. (Image courtesy of the Walker Art Center)

Today

Quilt Barns

Apparently this grass roots art movement began in 2001 and has spread to 16 states and 900 barns, adopted by rural communities as a way to honor the craft of quilt making and farming expressed through public art. Ohio, Iowa and Kentucky have over 250 in each state. Many barns are part of “quilt trails” that map dozens of barns per trail that sightseers can follow and enjoy.

The barns are painted in a variety of manners. Some communities hire local artists, and others are painted by clubs or high school art classes that seize the opportunity to volunteer to help create public art. Frequently a business with a truck with a hoist donates the crew and equipment needed to place the square, which is usually painted on two 4 x 8 sheets of outdoor plywood attached to a frame.
How to explain the rapid growth of the quilt-barn movement? The squares not only honor the wife of every farmer where they appear, they also recognize the rural heritage that has been a part of the fabric of America since Colonial times.

Round Barns

Round barns in Indiana are a rarity in the 21st century. While Indiana, more specifically, Fulton County, is the round barn captial of the world, few round barns remain standing. These barns are a piece of the historical landscape of the Hoosier state. Round barns are indicative of an agragarian society at the turn of the century. The round barn is a long forgotten ingenuity of a farming society that searched for innovative ways to improve their farming techniques. Bob Hamibaugh stated, "The era of round barns was a time in our agricultural history that was brief, but important. It was the birth of modern farming," ("The Round Barns of Fulton County," By: Lisa Hurt Kozarovich). Frank Retter of Randolph County would agree. As the grandson of a round barn builder, he takes great pride in his family's contribution to this aspect of farming. The round barn that his grandfather built 100 years ago is still in the family and still in use today.

Winged luxury submarines 'fly' underwater

Most people have had dreams of flying. Graham Hawkes had dreams of flying -- underwater.

Hawkes has been in the business of building underwater craft for more than a decade. In the early days, his company, Hawkes Ocean Technologies, built vehicles for researchers and moviemakers.
But in the past few years, the ultrarich have increasingly looked for cool playthings for their ocean adventures.
What better toy to have on the end of your 200-foot yacht than a submarine capable of diving to 1,500 feet below the sea's surface? Watch the flying sub in action »
Whoops. Did we say submarine? It's a submersible that can "fly" underwater.
The Deep Flight Super Falcon looks like a fighter jet, with its thin body, two seats, two sets of wings and two tail fins.

"We just had to tear up everything we knew about submersibles and start again on winged subs -- underwater flying machines," Hawkes said.
He said Deep Flight submersibles are designed to be more agile than any creature living in the ocean -- with the exception of dolphins. The company says that because of the wings, the Super Falcon can go barrel-rolling with dolphins while traveling at speeds much faster than other private submarines.

The craft can stay underwater for up to five hours and travel at speeds up to 6 knots, the company says on its Web site.
The first client for the Super Falcon was venture capitalist Tom Perkins, who wanted a toy to keep on his mega-yacht, the Maltese Falcon. The base price: $1.3 million. Another model, which has open cockpits and cannot dive as deep as the Super Falcon, sells for $350,000.

An eyefull of beauty...

Sometimes the full beauty of the night sky is best experienced without any visual aid, as illustrated by this image of the Northern Lights and the constellation Orion seen from outside the city of Ester, Alaska. The Northern Lights form when charged particles from the sun flow through twisted bundles of magnetic fields that connect Earth's upper atmosphere to the sun.

Freaky....

Try this FREAKY number trick! -- powered by flowgo.com

Huh???

Traveling

Stacey and Samantha

Just got back from a weekend trip to Arkansas. Tony and I got down there in time to get right in the middle of the Winter Storm that hit the South.

We had a slow drive coming back out of Arkansas in all that mess, but once we reached the Missouri line the roads improved.

Am glad to be back home where there is no snow...