Nutrisystem

     After a couple months of trying on my own to lose weight mainly by exercising a bit more each day I've found that it's not going so well. I'll have to admit that I haven't been watching what I've been eating very closely & have treated myself to some fast food. This I suspect is my primary problem-I cannot control myself when it comes to what I eat. SO, that is going to change.

     I have ordered Nutrisystem. I'll be delivered one month's worth (they say 28 days worth) of food where you get 5 meals a day. And if the celebrity endorsements are true (Marie Osmond, Dan Marino, Terry Bradshaw, Janet Jackson, have all endorsed it) & it's worked for them, maybe it can work for me.

     I'll wait and see. When I get it and test it out I'll see just how good it does for me. I can follow directions, and I think the system comes with directions on how to make it work for me, so we'll see. Buying my own groceries each month has cost at least as much as what this system costs-perhaps even a bit more-so I don't think that it will be unduly expensive at all to try. After I try it for a month or two or more I'll report back on how I'm doing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutrisystem
https://online.nutrisystem.com

This Day In Infamous History

    On June 12, 1994, Brown and Goldman were found dead outside Brown's condominium. Simpson was charged with their murders. On June 17, after failing to turn himself in, he became the object of a low-speed pursuit in a white Ford Bronco SUV that interrupted coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals. The pursuit, arrest, and trial were among the most widely publicized events in American history. The trial, often characterized as "the trial of the century", culminated on October 3, 1995 in a jury verdict of not guilty for the two murders. The verdict was seen live on TV by more than half of the U.S. population, making it one of the most watched events in American TV history. Immediate reaction to the verdict was notable for its division along racial lines: polls showed that most African-Americans felt that justice had been served by the "not guilty" verdict, while most white Americans did not. O. J. Simpson's defense counsel included Johnnie Cochran, Robert Kardashian, and F. Lee Bailey.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson

And although he did escape conviction for the two murders he was later tried and found guilty in a civil trial for which he was to pay the Goldman family around $33.5 million in damages. Much of O.J.'s memorabilia was confiscated to help pay for this judgement. Then later, when O.J. attempted to reacquire his former goods by force he was arrested and charged with multiple charges including criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, assault, robbery, and using a deadly weapon. His armed robbery charges by this date have been eliminated by the Nevada Parole Board, but he still remains in prison to this day on the other charges.
Today is 20 years to the day that O.J. & A.C. were chased along the highways and city streets of LA which was watched live on TV across America. To commemorate those moments please enjoy watching this video:

 

STAR WARS RETURNS

   It's been 37 years since Star Wars exploded into movie history and since that momentous occasion there have been related items for the fans to collect and treasure. Objects of all sorts have been produced over the years for the adoring public, yet one type of collectible is valued higher than all others & that is the action figure.

   With 6 Star Wars movies already made and 3 more in the works the franchise is stronger than ever. I once possessed a Star Wars collection of my own, made up primarily of MOC action figures from the ESB movie-that one is my personal favorite, but sadly I ended up having to sell the lot to pay debts. However, lots of people still collect them to this day and I'm sure will do so forever.

   With so many figures available many people would argue over which ones are the best-subjective opinions abound to be sure-and While they may not be the biggest or flashiest of the Star Wars collectibles, the following list of ten figures all have one thing in common: rarity. This list isn’t written in stone as many collectibles move in and out of popularity.
(this list is according to:

 http://www.mademan.com/mm/10-most-valuable-star-wars-collectibles.html)

Blue Snaggletooth. This Star Wars collectible was released in 1978. The toy modelers had only a black and white photo of the top half of Snaggletooth to go by. So when the movie version was red and barefoot, instead of blue and boot-clad, the figure was redone. In-box value of the original figure is about $400, making it valuable among Star Wars collectibles.

Freeze-frame Weequay. Released in the '90s, the value of this Star Wars collectible lies in the packaging. The figure itself isn’t particularly rare, but only a few were packaged with a translucent slide of the figure. If you have one with the slide, it’s worth about $400.

Anakin-to-Darth Vader Hasbro Press Kit. Only given out to media guests at Hasbro’s 2005 Toy Fair, this rare figure of Anakin on a circular base that rotates to a figure of Vader is valued at around $400.

Telescoping Lightsaber Luke. In 1978, three figures were produced with lightsabers that extended from their arms. Blades, in turn, extended from those sabers. These were very fragile, so only one run of the toys was produced. The most common of these figures was Luke Skywalker, which is valued at around $600.

Yak Face. In 1985 Kenner cancelled it’s Star Wars action figure line. Yak Face (a character with a very short Return of the Jedi appearance) had already been produced, and rather than being destroyed, was sent to outlets in Europe and Canada. Average price, in package, is about $1,000, making it a treasure among Star Wars collectibles.

Rocket Firing Boba Fett. This 1980 Star Wars figure, which Kenner officially denies the existence of, comes with it’s own urban legend. A three-year-old supposedly choked on the projectile, which was fired from Fett’s back. Some sources say this figure only existed as a prototype, while others disregard Kenner’s denial and list the figure at $1,000 to $2,000.

Vinyl-Caped Jawa. This 1978 Star Wars figure is one of the rarest of all produced. And one of the most counterfeited. Soon after the release of these figures, Kenner improved the line by switching the cheap plastic cape to a fabric one. An authenticated loose figure is worth about $1,000, while in-box authenticated figures are worth about $2,000. Any collector would be pleased to own this among Star Wars collectibles.

Vlix. A character from the Droids cartoon, this figure wasn’t produced at all in the U.S. When the Droids line was cancelled, the Vlix molds were sent to a Brazilian company, which produced the figure around 1985 and sold it only in Brazil. This Star Wars collectible is worth about $4000 loose.

Telescoping Obi-Wan. Like Luke, this 1978 Star Wars figure came with the extendable light saber in the arm. Quickly phased out because of their fragility, the less common Obi-Wan is worth about $6,000 to $7,000. This is one of the most valuable of the Star Wars collectibles.

Telescoping Darth Vader. Also released in 1978, this Star Wars figure is said by some sources to be the most valuable of those with telescoping lightsabers. Like Obi-Wan this figure is valued around $6,000 to $7,000.

   Finding one of these at a thrift store or garage sale would certainly make ones day, even if you weren't going to resale it on Ebay or some other outlet site. Although only a true Star Wars fan might feel the need to hold on to such a precious commodity.

A Brave New Stadium

    I've been an Atlanta Braves fan since the early 90s when a friend who was already a fan introduced me to his love of baseball. From then I've watched the game on TV and in person, major league, minor league & college games. And I'd have to say that the sport is my favorite to watch and attend-more so than football, basketball, tennis, etc. Even though its popularity as our 'national pastime' has waned a bit & it is actually listed second in the number of fans in America (According to the 2013 Harris Poll, the six sports with most fans are American football (46%), baseball (14%), basketball (10%), auto racing (7%), ice hockey (5%) and tennis (3%).  In the 1985 poll, 31% of fans preferred football, 23% baseball, 12% basketball, 5% auto racing and 5% tennis).

    Advocates of baseball point to the overwhelming number of baseball tickets sold annually in the United States and Canada, compared to NFL football. It is likely that the average American sports fan will attend many more major league baseball games than NFL football games in his or her lifetime, due in part to baseball's longer schedule and football's (generally) higher ticket prices. This is very true in my regard as I've personally attended dozens of MLB games. Meanwhile, I've only ever been to one NFL game and one NBA game. I've never been to a NHL game. I have been to two or three pro tennis tournaments. The ticket prices for NFL & NBA games are much higher than MLB games, and to me the experience of going to a baseball game is just so much better. I doubt that I'll ever go to an NHL game, so lets not include that, NBA sucks (even on TV), NFL isn't worth going to in person, though I do like watching some of the games on TV (however, this is reserved usually only for the Superbowl game-regular season & playoffs don;t interest me)-I actually find college football much more interesting, esp. SEC football, like games Alabama & Auburn are playing, But I love watching & attending baseball games be they college or pro level. And I esp. love to watch my Braves play any other team. Lately I've not been able to see them too much as the TV provider & package I have doesn't carry the Braves games, so I only get a few of them during the season.

    In a couple years the Braves will be moving into a new stadium north of Atlanta in Cobb county. You can get the details on this website:
http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/future/BravesBallpark.htm

    My friend and I have long gone to see the Braves at Fulton County where Hank Aaron became famous for his home runs, so having them move away will be sad, but it looks like their new home will be a pretty special place. Lets hope so. I'd hate to see their popularity falter because of this move.

Meanwhile, Over In Texas...

Lake Whitney in Texas is a fun place to hang out. People play around the lake and enjoy the water-some even build homes close to the limestone cliffs overlooking the majestic lake. Usually this works out, but recently it didn't for one family. Watch the following video for the fun things and not so fun things at Lake Whitney.

PORK TRACK?

For something completely different & unusual-here's Pork Track. If you've always wanted to know what song you were conceived to, this might have the answer. A weird idea that is probably getting some attention. Check it out @:
http://www.porktrack.com/

How Small Can We Go?

Looking at world records the other day on:
http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/
I came across one record in particular that caught my fancy--the world's smallest movie. Strangely enough it seems it was created by IBM researchers. You can see how they created it here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA4QWwaweWA
But for the fun stuff, watch the movie itself below. It is as simple as it can get for a movie, but what more can you expect when you're making it out of atoms?

Time Travel...Possible?

We've long dreamed of travelling thru time--going back into the past or forward into the future. Of all the wondrous things that could be done this must rank in the top 5 certainly. And yet we know for sure that time travel is an impossibility. Right?
Well, hold on a minute. Let's not rush to conclusions just yet or give up on the idea. There might be a way to at least see into the past. And if that could be done would that not be considered the same?
I may have lost most of you reading this already--I know it's a fantastical concept to even be able to see into the past. But I have an idea for doing it that is I think possibly not too far from being a reality.
Achieving this goal would require three things in my opinion:
1> a hardy space vessel for transporting occupants thru space in a timely and efficient manner. We have the capability to create this already, so step 1 is complete.
2> The most powerful telescope mankind has ever devised, but small enough to fit inside the spacecraft and be usable by the occupants.It would need to be perhaps a million times better than the Hubble Space Telescope. (NASA scientists are continuing their work on the James Webb Space Telescope, said to be the most powerful telescope ever created. The telescope is said to be capable of capturing seven times more light than its successor, the Hubble Space Telescope, a factor that will aid in its expected exploration of the deepest reaches of outer space. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is managing the project in collaboration with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. NASA reported today that the last three mirrors necessary for assembly of the complex infrared device have been delivered, allowing them to move forward with assembly. The $8.8 billion telescope will be massive, with its largest mirror, a unique folding, 18-segmented creation, spanning over 21 feet in length and weighing in excess of 1500 pounds. The mirror is six times larger than that of the Hubble Telescope). This is a leap forward in technology but a far cry from what I propose is needed for this mission. Perhaps in a hundred years or so we will have advanced technologically enough to create what I envision is needed. And also, by then perhaps we'll have located the third and final component on my list of requirements;
3> A known wormhole in space that can be navigated by our spacecraft and has the following characteristics:
   a> the entrance is not too far from Earth to allow us a timely journey there,
   b> the wormhole extends thru space to a point hundreds or even thousands of light years from earth and takes a very short time to journey thru to its exit,
   c> both ends are permanent so that it can be counted on being there for a long time/forever.
   d> the exit would be located somewhere in the Milky Way Galaxy (so it would be no more than say 80,000 light years away from Earth).
Okay, here's the proposed idea/plan: Take the spacecraft loaded with the telescope thru the wormhole & to wherever it exits. Park the craft and deploy the telescope. Look back at earth & zoom in on whatever is happening in the past. (Since light travels at light speed we would be looking at an Earth hundreds or possibly thousands of years old).
If this could all be done then whatever was witnessed could be recorded and sent back thru the wormhole to Earth of the present. We wouldn't be able to hear people talking, but you might be able to see the actions of people outdoors. And there were apparently some famous things going on back then. For instance:
*See the crucifixion of Christ
*see Noah build the arc & the great flood
*see Moses part the Red Sea and lead the slaves to freedom
*see David defeat Goliath
etc. (moments depicted in the bible could be verified as to have truly happened)
Then, if even longer wormholes were found that took us farther from Earth perhaps we could see back even further in time. Like seeing when man first appeared on Earth. This would possibly require a wormhole exit located in some other galaxy, however, due to this being millions of years ago (which would mean millions of light years away). And, it is almost inconceivable to imagine, but if there was a wormhole that could take us around 65 million light years distant we could possibly witness the extinction of the dinosaurs. Of course the telescope required for this would also have to be unimaginable in power.

-As for actually physically traveling back in time, I still have no theories on how this could be done, although I'm sure other have various ideas. I as well have as yet no ideas for future time travel or even looking into the future. But, I'll be thinking on this next and will report back on the blog if I come up with any ideas. :)

ICE CREAM BREAD!!!

Yes it's true! You can make bread from ice cream. Well, ice cream + flour. Sounds crazy. I mean, who would imagine that it could be done? But there's many videos on Youtube and elsewhere showing it being done. I guess that all the ingredients to make the bread must be within the ice cream minus the flour, so that must be how you can do it. I just wonder who was the first to discover they could make it. Well, at any rate, watch the video below to see it for yourself. It's true and pretty wild!

 

HALT AND CATCH FIRE

AMC, the channel that has previously brought us spectacular and award-winning shows like Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead, and Mad Men is attempting to deliver its latest hit with the period drama Halt and Catch Fire.
Halt and Catch Fire = (HCF) an instruction which causes a computer to cease functioning.
With one episode under its belt we've so far been introduced to the main characters;
Joe MacMillan (Lee Pace)=the adrenalin fueled and highly ambitious go-getter who has left IBM Corp a year before the shows opening apparently because he is tired of "playing it safe", arrives at his new job at Cardiff Electric and has the secret goal to build a computer better than anything else on the planet. And his methods leave little to the imagination as nothing it seems is off limits in achieving this goal.
Gordon Clark (Scoot McNairy)=the engineer nerd who might just be smart and eager enough to follow Joe along on this quest.
Cameron Howe (MacKenzie Davis)=the gorgeous babe with brains to match lured into this yarn by the charm and salesmanship of Joe, who's already made it with her by halfway thru the show.
I highly anticipated watching the initial episode as I grew up in the 80s and have always had a personal computer ever since my first one which was an Apple II+ that I bought for $1000 in 1980. Looking back on it that simple machine seems so pathetic now, however, back then it was state of the art. If we only knew then what we know now.
In "I/O" episode 1, Gordon Clark reverse engineers an IBM PC & figures out the hexadecimal codes within the bios chip. Presumably from there he can program his own bios chip and then put together a PC of his own. Gordon's Family and company problems derail these plans quickly, however, as IBM's attorneys arrive at Cardiff Electric due to Joe informing IBM of what he and Gordon have done.
AMC it looks to me has hit another home run-hopefully the rest of the season's episodes will be as good as the first.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halt_and_Catch_Fire_(TV_series)
http://www.amctv.com/shows/halt-and-catch-fire

 

Nature Can Be A Scary Thing

I found this video on the website:
http://www.snotr.com/video/9664/Damn_natureYou_scary__O
I've known clouds to look pretty scary at times, and I've seen some wierd stuff, but never anything quite like this. I've never seen a tornado or hurricane in person-though I have seen a waterspout, which was pretty cool (down at Gulf Shores, Alabama during a thunderstorm there was one of these tornado-like events churning up the surf about a hundred yards off the beach & running parallel to it=probably one of the coolest experiences I've ever witnessed. My brother was there with me to see it & I took a couple pictures of it with his camera). I'd imagine that these are kinda scary. But watch the following video for something else pretty scary looking.