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A couple of conservative union electricians cause the teleprompter to short-out at Invesco field, requiring that Obama read from notes. His acceptance speech takes four hours and the coffee vendors make millions. Hillary travels to Fort Collins with Patricia Schroeder to have a bake sale to feed the homeless.

Toby Keith Praises Obama Tuesday, August 19, 2008 5:30 PM LOS ANGELES -- Barack Obama is getting praise from Nashville, courtesy of one big, patriotic country star. Toby Keith, perhaps best known to non-country audiences for his post-Sept. 11 song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," says he's a Democrat, and was impressed by the senator from Illinois.

DELTA TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Michigan authorities say a shoplifting suspect has died after being crushed in a trash compactor where she was hiding. The Eaton County sheriff's department said two women fled a Lansing-area TJ Maxx discount store after spraying a security guard with Mace. A deputy found one of the women behind a nearby trash compactor.

Apple has begun airing three new "Get a Mac" ads on U.S. network and cable television. In "Pizza Box," PC stoops to disguising himself as a pizza to get college students to even look his way. Apple "Get a Mac" ad: Pizza BoxIn "Throne," PC sits atop his throne, but Mac puts a damper on his fun. Apple "Get a Mac" ad: ThroneIn "Calming Teas," Windows PC offers user "calming teas" to deal with the mess that is Windows Vista. Apple "Get a Mac" ad: Calming TeasSee the ads in various sizes and qualities via Apple.com here.

This is a video of, Old Fashion Revival Singing and Church, with imaginative animation of frogs that have been inspired and singing a short version of the hymns, "Rock of Ages" and "Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow". The instrumental is the "Doxology”. This is an o7jimmy/Revski Classic. :)

BEIJING (AP) -- Jamaica's Usain Bolt wins gold in 200 meters in a world record for rare Olympic sprint double.

I don't know if I'm posting this correctly, but I thought everyone should get a load of this video. Typical Obama supporter?

BEIJING - USA softball almost lost Wednesday. And this is what passes for exciting in this sport at the Olympics.Japan nearly scored an upset. How fun for them."That was softball at its best," U.S. coach Mike Candrea said. If that is truly the case, if a 4-1 victory in extra innings to extend Team USA's Olympic winning streak to 22 games is really the pinnacle, it is time for wrap-it-up sign. It has been fun, even entertaining at times, but it's time for softball to use this possibly permanent hiatus from The Game to fix what is obviously broken.A pitching...

Star Wars: The Clone Wars — A Big Pile of Dooku A long, long time ago, in a California mansion far away — George Lucas ran out of ideas. So, for the new cartoon feature Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which is set between episodes II and III, he has outsourced story, script, and direction duties to younglings who take the saga down to the level of an 8-year-old playing with his action figures with many happy shouts of “Shoop! Ptaw! Fwooooooom!” The look is, bizarrely enough, modeled after that of the 1960s cult TV show The Thunderbirds. That’s right....

A founding member of long-running Virginia jam band the Dave Matthews Band has passed away, a rep for the band has revealed in a statement released to Access Hollywood. He was 46 years old. “LeRoi Moore, saxophonist and founding member of Dave Matthews Band, died unexpectedly Tuesday afternoon, August 19, 2008, at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles from sudden complications stemming from his June ATV accident on his farm near Charlottesville, Virginia,” the rep stated. “Moore had recently returned to his Los Angeles home to begin an intensive physical rehabilitation program.” Moore, who played flute and pennywhistle in...

My prediction is that Hillary will be democratic nominee with Obama as the VP. Thoughts?

Meet Saudi Arabia's mad motorway skaters An incredible video shows what has become the latest dangerous craze to hit Saudi Arabia: street skating.The footage appears to be genuine... The three boys cling onto the car as they appear to 'skate' along the road's surface As the car drives down the motorway at high speed the boys, who look no older than teenagers, open the doors, step outside in their white robes and then proceed to 'skate' along the tarmac as it speeds beneath their sandalled feet. At one point all three of the car's doors, all but the driver's, are...

In order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities, here is the daily post of "Word for the Day". rapporteur • \ra-por-TER\ • noun a person who gives reports (as at a meeting of a learned society) Example sentence: The rapporteur compiled the available evidence into a report and presented it to the full committee. Did you know? "Rapporteur" was adopted into English in the early 16th century and is a descendant of the Middle French verb "rapporter," meaning "to bring back, report, or refer." Other descendants of "rapporter" in English include...

"SAN FRANCISCO (August 6, 2008) – About 50 anti-war activists targeted the video game maker Ubisoft today to “help stop the Army’s child recruitment program” in the form of the free “America’s Army” game. Organizers noted that the game “targets children as young as 13” while South Park game companies Ubisoft, Gameloft, and Secret Level were profiting from the illegal recruitment program.“America’s Army”—available since 2002 as a free download—is a game developed by the U.S. military to instruct players in “Army values,” portray the army in a positive light, and increase potential recruits. The “game” is the property and brainchild...

Single Action Shooting Society I keep meeting shooters who haven't heard of this organization. SASS is the Single Action Shooting Society. Although I'm not a member, of all the organized shooting events I've attended, these guys had the most fun.The Single Action Shooting Society is an international organization created to preserve and promote the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting™. SASS endorses regional matches conducted by affiliated clubs, stages END of TRAIL The World Championship of Cowboy Action Shooting, promulgates rules and procedures to ensure safety and consistency in Cowboy Action Shooting matches, and seeks to protect its members' 2nd Amendment...

Being a beggar will not be so easy anymore if draft legislation approved by the cabinet yesterday becomes law. The bill proposed by the Human Security and Social Development Ministry sets conditions for people who want to be beggars. They must provide proof they are underprivileged, disabled, homeless or elderly without children to care for them. And this will be a reserved occupation, exclusively for Thais who must carry ID cards. Would-be professional beggars will have to report to local administration organisations for approval and work permits. Local agencies will be responsible for controlling beggars in their jurisdictions, while the...

fire and rain

Dont know how he does this stuff...Pretty neatLink

President of the United States Bill Clinton has admitted having an inappropriate relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky ...

The gun-control activist whose provocative billboards have been turning heads along the Massachusetts Turnpike for 13 years today will unveil one of his most eye-popping messages yet - a fake neon advertisement for American gun shows where people can buy weapons, no questions asked. "We Sell Guns! No ID required. No background checks. Criminals and terrorists welcome!" the billboard peals. "Gun shows are the equivalent of Al Qaeda terrorists walking directly onto the airplane while you and I wait in the TSA line," John Rosenthal, founder and chairman of Stop Handgun Violence, said in a recent interview. "They don't want...

My cousin Tom Bentsen was on the Edmund, he was 23 or 24 dont remember which. Nice guy, wouldn't want to go that way. Good song and video.Link

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 19, 2008 OBAMA: THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK, BY ANDY MARTIN, RECEIVES NATIONAL ADVERTISING BEFORE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION (NEW YORK)(August 19, 2008) Orange State Press ("OSP") has begun a National radio advertising campaign for Obama: The Man Behind The Mask, by Andy Martin. "The book is selling very well both on our own web site and through Amazon.com," states Linda Smith, OSP's Managing Director for Marketing and Promotion. "OSP felt the time was right, on the eve of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, to 'freshen' Andy's book with a new round of national advertising. Initially...

My wife and I are traveling to Santa Fe, NM (pleasure trip) from Sep. 6 to Sep. 14. Suggestions?

'Teflon' company posts personal computer record of 85, 10 points ahead of No. 2 DellAugust 19, 2008 (Computerworld) Apple Inc. trounced rival computer makers selling Windows-equipped PCs by historic margins in an annual customer satisfaction survey, the poll's chief researcher said today. "We haven't seen anything like this before, where a company scores 10 points over its nearest rival," said Claes Fornell, the head of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), conducted quarterly by the University of Michigan. Apple's customer satisfaction score of 85, an ACSI record in the personal computer category, was 10 points higher than the closest competitor,...

This four-eared cat is so rare that his owners keep him indoors to prevent him getting catnapped. The feline, named Yoda, has two extra “flaps” behind his normal ears, but is otherwise in good health and appears to have perfect hearing. His owners, who picked him out from a litter of eight-week-old kittens being handed around in a bar, say that local vets were mystified when they took him for a check-up. "We began to realise that we had something very special,” said Valerie Rock, 65. "As a result, he has been an indoor cat and has a chip installed...

If Batman had a cat, it would probably look something like this. The household pet, named Yoda, was born with an extra set of ears. Valerie and Ted Rock took him in two years ago after visiting a bar near their home in Chicago, where he was being passed round by curious drinkers. He was one of a large litter and the owners were looking for a home for him. A good listener: Two-year-old house cat Yoda was born with four ears The couple immediately fell for the freaky feline and asked the owner if they could adopt him. Valerie,...

25. Is Texas Tech poised to become more than just an aerial circus? It has taken time, but head coach Mike Leach has the Red Raiders in a position to vie for more than just the nation's passing title. Tech will again post gaudy numbers through the air, with Graham Harrell having all day to find receivers behind a gigantic offensive line. The difference this season is that the defense has the ingredients to be more than just the undercard, adding top JUCO recruits McKinner Dixon and Brandon SeSay to bolster the defensive line. Don't be floored if the Nov....

A couple recovered their sport utility vehicle stolen as they visited Riverside National Cemetery, but it was too late to save their prized pet.

Two off-duty female cops yelled, "We are the police!" - and then pistol-whipped a Bronx man in what authorities call a case of road rage. NYPD Officers Michelle Anglin, 37, and Koleen Robinson, 24, were charged with assault, gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon for the Williamsbridge beatdown. It took 25 staples to close the gash in Marlon Smith's head, authorities said. Smith, 35, had pulled up alongside Robinson's black Suburban with his driver's side car door wide open as the two cars sat near E. 218th St. and White Plains Road at 5p.m. Friday. "Close the door,...

Sometimes you get so proud of your country. I was with the wife and grandson yesterday at the IHOP. While we were being seated, I noticed a couple of soldiers in uniform eating at another table. I got up and went back to the front counter and told the cashier that I would cover whatever those soldiers were eating. She said I was too late, someone had already done so, and three other people had tried before me. Sometimes you get so proud of your country, ya know?

Scotch10:40AMAug 19th 2008 The Frog Theory DO NOT KNOW WHO WROTE THIS HISTORICAL BRIDGE BETWEEN WARS...I only hope we 'over 50's' can wake up the young people before they're totally brainwashed! WILL HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF??? Now that the two primary Presidential candidates are clearly identified, with major differences in their experience, background and platform, it is important to look back to see if history is destined to repeat itself. I just received an email from Dr. Larry J. Tracy, a friend of mine for over 50 years that I want to share with you. His message is titled 'The Frog...

The first few minutes has been nothing but negative.

. The Sharpie 500 Saturday 8:00 pm ET Bristol Motor Speedway SPEED Pre-race show at 5:00 ET ESPN Pre-race show at 7:00 ET Green flag 8:15 ET The FR Canteen God Bless Our Troops

NGC 6960: The Witch's Broom Nebula Credit & Copyright: Adam Block, Mount Lemmon SkyCenter, Univ. Arizona Explanation: Ten thousand years ago, before the dawn of recorded human history, a new light must suddenly have appeared in the night sky and faded after a few weeks. Today we know this light was an exploding star and record the colorful expanding cloud as the Veil Nebula. Pictured above is the west end of the Veil Nebula known technically as NGC 6960 but less formally as the Witch's Broom Nebula. The expanding debris cloud gains its colors by sweeping up and exciting existing...

(College freshmen haven’t experienced soft drinks in glass) For 18-year-olds entering college this fall, Walt Disney World has always had competition from Universal Studios in Orlando. No glass bottles of Coke or Pepsi for these teens. Aside from the retro bottles, these soft drinks have always come in recycled plastic. And, oh, how the technology has advanced. Not only did Windows 3.0 come out the year before these teens were born, but shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle. Beloit College released today this year's version of its Mindset List; a collection of 60 cultural waypoints...

Beijing - The young woman grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go. She pleaded with me in broken English. Please, mister, buy from me. Please, mister, I have children to feed. Please, mister, I need money for school. What did I look like, a sap? I knew she'd already graduated from U-Con with a degree in multi-lingual double-talk. I was at the Xiushui Silk Market in downtown Beijing, a six-story complex with more than 1,500 shops. It's sort of a cross between 7 Mile Fair and the bar scene in "Star Wars," with thousands of shoppers from every corner of...

Reality and TV collided Monday when Cindy Williams, whose “Laverne & Shirley” character was a brewery worker from Milwaukee, stepped foot for the first time in a Milwaukee brewery and ran into the Fons. That would be Karen Fons from human resources at MillerCoors here. “To the other Fonz,” Williams signed on her shirt when she popped in at a celebration to celebrate 1 million safe working hours at the brewery. A few miles away, Anson Williams was touring the Harley-Davidson Museum, celebrating the motorcycle lifestyle associated not with his own “Happy Days” character, Potsie Weber, but rather with the...

The unique library of the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, buried beneath lava by Vesuvius's eruption in AD79, is slowly revealing its long-held secretsSTORED in a sky-lit reading room on the top floor of the Biblioteca Nazionale in Naples are the charred remains of the only library to survive from classical antiquity. The ancient world's other great book collections -- at Athens, Alexandria and Rome -- all perished in the chaos of the centuries. But the library of the Villa of the Papyri was conserved, paradoxically, by an act of destruction. Lying to the northwest of ancient Herculaneum, this...

Leryn Franco is just your run-of-the-mill javelin thrower/pageant queen/model with her own calendar. But during the Beijing Olympics the 26-year old Paraguayan became so much more to the American people; she became our javelin thrower/pageant queen/model with her own calendar. So, my fellow Americans, it is with a heavy heart that I regret to inform you that our favorite Paraguayan athlete (sorry Jose Luis Chilavert) was eliminated from the Olympics this morning after failing to qualify for the javelin finals. Take all the time you need. Ms. Franco became the object of our attention after she was noticed by NBC...

When practices started last week, St. John's University football coach John Gagliardi, 81, began his 56th year of coaching the Johnnies and 60th year of college coaching. On Monday, I talked with the four-time national champion and college coaching's all-time leader in wins (453) about his past, present and future. BS: Let's get it out of the way. Any thoughts of this being your last year of coaching? I think I've asked you that question for the past 20 years. JG: You might as well go for 30 in a row. No plans at the moment. BS: Does it ever...

On cross-examination, Professor Behe admitted that: “There are no peer reviewed articles by anyone advocating for intelligent design supported by pertinent experiments or calculations which provide detailed rigorous accounts of how intelligent design of any biological system occurred.” Additionally, Professor Behe conceded that there are no peer-reviewed papers supporting his claims that complex molecular systems, like the bacterial flagellum, the blood-clotting cascade, and the immune system, were intelligently designed. In that regard, there are no peer-reviewed articles supporting Professor Behe’s argument that certain complex molecular structures are “irreducibly complex.". In addition to failing to produce papers in peer-reviewed journals, ID...

A new study of the ribosome, the cell's protein-building machinery, sheds light on the oldest branches of the evolutionary tree of life and suggests that differences in ribosomal structure between the three main branches of that tree are "molecular fossils" of the early evolution of protein synthesis.

PHILADELPHIA –- Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have theorized a way to increase the speed of pulses of light that bound across chains of tiny metal particles to well past the speed of light by altering the particle shape. Application of this theory would use nanosized metal chains as building blocks for novel optoelectronic and optical devices, which would operate at higher frequencies than conventional electronic circuits. Such devices could eventually find applications in the developing area of high-speed optical computing, in which protons and light replace electrons and transistors for greater performance. Colleagues in the Department of Bioengineering,...

http://www.wjno.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=244038&article=4117332

Weak sun created cool oceans, lowered rainfall seven times in 7,000 yearsATHENS, Ohio (Aug. 19, 2008) – A stalagmite in a West Virginia cave has yielded the most detailed geological record to date on climate cycles in eastern North America over the past 7,000 years. The new study confirms that during periods when Earth received less solar radiation, the Atlantic Ocean cooled, icebergs increased and precipitation fell, creating a series of century-long droughts. A research team led by Ohio University geologist Gregory Springer examined the trace metal strontium and carbon and oxygen isotopes in the stalagmite, which preserved climate conditions...

Implications for future pandemic planningThe majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia was caused when bacteria that normally inhabit the nose and throat invaded the lungs along a pathway created when the virus destroyed the cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs. A future influenza pandemic may unfold in a similar manner, say the NIAID authors,...

LONDON (Reuters) - Magpies can recognize themselves in a mirror, highlighting the mental skills of some birds and confounding the notion that self-awareness is the exclusive preserve of humans and a few higher mammals. It had been thought only chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants shared the human ability to recognize their own bodies in a mirror. But German scientists reported on Tuesday that magpies -- a species with a brain structure very different from mammals -- could also identify themselves. "It shows that the line leading to humans is not as special as many thought," lead researcher Helmut Prior of the...

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A group of children rocking out to kiddie tracks at a kindergarten disco party were told to turn down the tunes or face a shut down of their party by noise control officials who raided the soiree.

It's hard to be amazed by anything you see online, when you know any teenager with a computer and a pirated copy of Photoshop can cobble together a fake photograph in minutes. Unfortunately this means there's a whole bunch of jaw-dropping pics that the internet declared "FAKE!" the moment they appeared. But as it turns out, some of the most baffling of them are, in fact, real.

LONDON (Reuters) - Magpies can recognize themselves in a mirror, highlighting the mental skills of some birds and confounding the notion that self-awareness is the exclusive preserve of humans and a few higher mammals. It had been thought only chimpanzees, dolphins and elephants shared the human ability to recognize their own bodies in a mirror. But German scientists reported on Tuesday that magpies -- a species with a brain structure very different from mammals -- could also identify themselves. "It shows that the line leading to humans is not as special as many thought," lead researcher Helmut Prior of the...